UK Adult Content Site Visits Declines After Identity Checks, But VPN Usage Surges, States Watchdog

Visitor numbers to adult content platforms in the UK has decreased markedly since the introduction of age-checking measures earlier this year, as reported by the nation's communications regulator. At the same time, the use of tools designed to dodge these barriers has surged.

Sharp Drop in User Numbers Following Rule Implementation

The introduction of age vetting on 25 July caused an immediate fall in visits to major pornography sites, such as the top provider in the UK. Figures indicates that user traffic to this platform in August were 9.8 million, a drop of 1.5 million from the same period in 2024.

Overall, traffic to the ten most-visited adult services in the UK have now stabilized at a markedly decreased volume than prior to the late July implementation date. Subsequent analysis suggests this downward trend in site visits persisted past August.

Surge in VPN Adoption to Evade Restrictions

Reacting to the new rules, use of VPN software—which can bypass location-based restrictions by routing connections via another country—more than doubled following 25 July.

User numbers peaked at more than 1.4 million in the middle of August, up from approximately 650,000 people before the checks began. Subsequently, the watchdog noted that VPN usage has since decreased, with current figures at approximately 900,000. It clarified that the volume of daily VPN use remains “much lower” than user numbers for adult sites.

Teenagers Responding to Harmful Online Content

Elsewhere, the watchdog's annual study found that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had acted after encountering distressing content on the internet. Steps taken included flagging the material to the platform to blocking the user who posted it.

This research was conducted prior to new regulations came into force that require social media companies to prevent children from seeing dangerous content, such as material related to self-harm and adult material. The primary way young people encountered such content was by looking through a platform timeline, indicating that recommendation systems were serving harmful material.

Ministers Launch Review of Pornography Legislation

In a related development, the government announced it would examine the criminal law relating to pornography to assess whether it is effective in the ever-developing digital age.

“The review will investigate the efficacy of the current law in relation to criminalising, for example, harmful depictions of familial abuse and any forms of pornography which promote the abuse of children,” said a justice minister.

Campaigners Push For Tighter Digital Regulations

Campaigners for better control of online pornography have urged the government to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring simulated familial abuse or that appears to promote child sexual abuse by casting youthful performers dressed as children.

Suggested changes to government bills seek to:

• Ban pornography where performers are mimicking children, often recorded in environments like children’s bedrooms.
• Broaden the offence of making an exploitative portrayal of a child to include material where an older performer plays the role of a child.
• Apply tighter controls on incest-themed pornography, which studies indicates is often promoted by site systems.
• Introduce further controls on “nudification” software, potentially making it an illegal act to own tools designed to generate private images without permission.
• Establish a new, separate oversight agency to conduct spot checks on adult platforms and act on reports of illegal content.

The campaigners argue that these steps would ensure the safeguards that have been enforced for decades in the physical world finally apply to the online sphere.