UK Adult Content Traffic Falls Following Age Checks, But VPN Usage Spikes, Reports Regulator
Visitor numbers to adult content sites in the United Kingdom has fallen significantly after the roll-out of mandatory age verification this summer, according to the country's communications watchdog. Simultaneously, the adoption of tools designed to bypass these barriers has risen.
Immediate Drop in User Numbers Following Rule Implementation
The enforcement of age verification on 25 July resulted in an immediate decline in visits to major online adult platforms, including the top site in the UK. Data indicates that user traffic to this platform in August stood at 9.8 million, a decrease of 1.5 million from the same period in 2024.
In total, traffic to the ten most-visited pornography sites in the UK have now settled at a markedly decreased volume than before the end-of-July deadline. Later analysis indicates this downward trend in viewing persisted beyond August.
Surge in VPN Usage to Evade Checks
In response to the new rules, adoption of VPN software—which can circumvent location-based blocks by masking connections via another country—more than doubled after 25 July.
Usage peaked at more than 1.4 million in the middle of August, rising from approximately 650,000 users before the checks began. However, the regulator stated that VPN usage has afterwards fallen back, with latest figures standing at approximately 900,000. It added that the volume of daily VPN use remains “much lower” than traffic for pornography sites.
Young People Taking Action to Damaging Material
Elsewhere, the watchdog's annual study found that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had taken action after encountering distressing content on the internet. Actions included reporting the content to the platform to muting the person who shared it.
This survey was carried out before new rules came into force that require social media companies to prevent children from accessing harmful content, such as material related to self-harm and pornography. The primary way young people encountered such content was by scrolling through a platform timeline, suggesting that recommendation systems were serving harmful material.
Ministers Launch Review of Pornography Legislation
In a related development, the government stated it would review the legislation governing pornography to assess whether it is “fit for purpose” in the ever-developing digital age.
“The review will investigate the effectiveness of the current law in relation to criminalising, among other things, damaging depictions of familial abuse and any types of pornography which promote the abuse of children,” said a justice minister.
Campaigners Push For Stricter Digital Regulations
Campaigners for better regulation of adult content have called on the government to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring simulated familial abuse or that encourages abuse by casting youthful performers dressed as children.
Suggested changes to legislation aim to:
- Ban pornography where performers are impersonating children, often recorded in settings like children’s bedrooms.
- Broaden the offence of making an indecent image of a child to include material where an adult acts the part of a child.
- Introduce stricter regulation on incest-themed pornography, which research indicates is heavily recommended by platform algorithms.
- Add additional controls on “nudification” software, potentially making it an offence to possess software designed to generate non-consensual nude images.
- Establish a new, independent oversight agency to perform inspections on pornography sites and act on reports of unlawful content.
The advocates argue that these steps would ensure the protections that have existed for years offline finally apply to the digital age.
