British Pornography Site Visits Declines Following Identity Checks, Yet Virtual Private Network Usage Surges, States Watchdog

Traffic to adult content websites in the UK has decreased markedly since the roll-out of mandatory age verification earlier this year, as reported by the country's communications watchdog. Concurrently, the use of specialist software designed to dodge these barriers has surged.

Immediate Drop in Visitor Numbers Following Rule Implementation

The enforcement of age vetting on 25 July caused an immediate fall in visits to leading pornography sites, including the leading provider in the UK. Figures reveals that user traffic to this site in August were 9.8 million, a drop of 1.5 million from the same period in 2024.

Overall, traffic to the 10 most-visited adult services in the UK have now settled at a “lower level” than prior to the late July deadline. Later analysis suggests this slump in viewing continued past August.

Sharp Increase in Virtual Private Network Usage to Evade Checks

Reacting to the new regulations, adoption of VPN software—which can bypass geographic blocks by masking internet traffic via another country—surged following 25 July.

Usage reached a high at more than 1.4 million in mid-August, up from approximately 650,000 people before the verification were introduced. However, the watchdog noted that VPN usage has afterwards steadily declined, with latest numbers at around 900,000. It clarified that the volume of daily VPN use remains “much lower” than traffic for adult services.

Teenagers Responding to Harmful Online Content

In other findings, the watchdog's annual study found that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had taken action after seeing distressing content online. Actions included flagging the content to the site to blocking the user who posted it.

This research was conducted prior to new regulations took effect that require platforms to prevent children from seeing harmful content, such as material related to suicide and adult material. The primary way young people encountered such content was by scrolling through a social media timeline, suggesting that recommendation systems were showing inappropriate material.

Ministers Announce Examination of Adult Content Legislation

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

“The review will look into the efficacy of the existing law in relation to making illegal, among other things, harmful portrayals of familial abuse and any types of pornography which encourage the abuse of children,” stated a justice minister.

Campaigners Push For Tighter Digital Controls

Advocates for better regulation of adult content have urged the authorities to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring incest scenes or that appears to promote child sexual abuse by using young-looking adults dressed as children.

Suggested amendments to legislation seek to:

• Prohibit pornography where adults are mimicking children, often filmed in settings like children’s bedrooms.
• Extend the offence of making an exploitative portrayal of a child to include material where an adult plays the role of a child.
• Apply tighter regulation on incest-themed pornography, which research suggests is often promoted by site systems.
• Add further controls on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an offence to own software designed to generate private images without permission.
• Create a new, independent oversight agency to conduct spot checks on pornography sites and respond to complaints of unlawful content.

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