UK Adult Content Traffic Falls After Age Verifications, But Virtual Private Network Use Surges, States Regulator

Traffic to adult content platforms in the United Kingdom has fallen significantly after the enforcement of mandatory age verification earlier this year, according to the nation's communications watchdog. At the same time, the usage of tools designed to circumvent these barriers has surged.

Immediate Drop in User Figures Following Law Enforcement

The enforcement of age vetting on 25 July resulted in an immediate decline in traffic to popular pornography sites, including the most visited provider in the UK. Figures shows that user traffic to this platform in August were 9.8 million, a decrease of 1.5 million compared to the equivalent month in 2024.

Overall, visitor numbers to the ten most-visited pornography sites in the UK have now stabilized at a markedly decreased volume than before the late July implementation date. Later data suggests this slump in site visits continued beyond August.

Surge in Virtual Private Network Usage to Evade Restrictions

In response to the new rules, adoption of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can circumvent location-based blocks by masking connections through another nation—increased dramatically after 25 July.

Usage peaked at over 1.4 million in mid-August, rising from approximately 650,000 people prior to the verification were introduced. However, the watchdog stated that VPN usage has since fallen back, with current figures standing at approximately 900,000. It added that the volume of regular VPN use remains “much lower” than traffic for adult services.

Young People Responding to Harmful Material

Elsewhere, the watchdog's report revealed that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had acted after encountering harmful content online. Steps taken included reporting the material to the platform to blocking the user who shared it.

This research was carried out before new rules came into force that require social media companies to prevent children from seeing dangerous content, such as material related to suicide and adult material. The primary way teenagers encountered such content was by scrolling through a platform timeline, indicating that recommendation systems were showing inappropriate material.

Ministers Announce Review of Adult Content Laws

In a related development, the government stated it would examine the legislation governing pornography to consider whether it is adequate in the modern digital age.

“The examination will investigate the efficacy of the current law in relation to criminalising, among other things, harmful portrayals of incest and any types of pornography which encourage child sexual abuse,” stated a government official.

Advocates Push For Stricter Digital Controls

Advocates for tighter regulation of online pornography have urged the authorities to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring simulated familial abuse or that appears to promote child sexual abuse by casting young-looking adults dressed as children.

Suggested changes to government bills aim to:

• Prohibit pornography where adults are mimicking children, sometimes filmed in settings like children’s bedrooms.
• Broaden the offence of making an exploitative portrayal of a child to include material where an adult acts the part of a child.
• Apply stricter regulation on incest-themed pornography, which studies indicates is often promoted by platform systems.
• Add additional restrictions on “nudification” software, potentially making it an illegal act to own software designed to create non-consensual nude images.
• Establish a new, independent regulatory body to perform inspections on adult platforms and act on reports of illegal content.

The advocates contend that these steps would ensure the safeguards that have been enforced for years in the physical world finally are extended to the online sphere.