UK Adult Content Traffic Declines Following Identity Verifications, But VPN Usage Surges, Reports Watchdog

Visitor numbers to pornography platforms in the UK has fallen significantly since the roll-out of mandatory age verification earlier this year, as reported by the country's communications regulator. At the same time, the adoption of tools designed to circumvent these barriers has risen.

Immediate Drop in Visitor Figures After Law Enforcement

The enforcement of age vetting on 25 July caused an immediate reduction in visits to popular online adult platforms, such as the leading provider in the UK. Figures indicates that user traffic to this site in August reached 9.8 million, a drop of 1.5 million compared to the equivalent month in 2024.

In total, traffic to the ten top adult services in the UK have now stabilized at a “lower level” than prior to the end-of-July deadline. Later analysis suggests this slump in site visits continued past August.

Surge in VPN Adoption to Evade Restrictions

Reacting to the new rules, use of VPN software—which can circumvent location-based blocks by masking internet traffic via another nation—surged after 25 July.

Usage peaked at over 1.4 million in the middle of August, up from approximately 650,000 users prior to the verification were introduced. Subsequently, the regulator stated that VPN usage has since fallen back, with latest figures standing at approximately 900,000. It added that the volume of regular VPN use remains “much lower” than user numbers for adult services.

Young People Responding to Harmful Material

Elsewhere, the watchdog's annual study revealed that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had taken action after encountering harmful content online. Steps taken ranged from flagging the content to the platform to muting the person who shared it.

This survey was conducted prior to new rules came into force that require platforms to prevent children from accessing harmful content, including material related to self-harm and adult material. The most common way young people came across such content was by scrolling through a social media feed, suggesting that recommendation systems were showing inappropriate material.

Ministers Announce Review of Pornography Laws

In a related development, the government announced it would review the criminal law governing pornography to consider whether it is “fit for purpose” in the modern digital age.

“The review will look into the effectiveness of the current law in regarding making illegal, for example, harmful depictions of familial abuse and any forms of pornography which encourage the abuse of children,” stated a justice minister.

Campaigners Call For Stricter Online Controls

Campaigners for tighter control of online pornography have called on the government to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring incest scenes or that appears to promote abuse by using youthful performers portraying children.

Proposed changes to legislation aim to:

• Ban pornography where adults are impersonating children, sometimes recorded in settings like children’s bedrooms.
• Extend the offence of creating an exploitative portrayal of a child to include material where an adult plays the role of a child.
• Introduce stricter controls on incest-themed pornography, which studies suggests is heavily recommended by site systems.
• Introduce further restrictions on “nudification” software, potentially making it an offence to own tools designed to create private images without permission.
• Create a new, independent regulatory body to perform inspections on adult platforms and act on complaints of illegal content.

The advocates contend that these measures would ensure the safeguards that have been enforced for years in the physical world finally apply to the digital age.