UK Adult Content Traffic Falls Following Age Checks, But VPN Use Surges, States Watchdog

Access to adult content sites in the United Kingdom has seen a notable drop after the roll-out of mandatory age verification this summer, as reported by the nation's communications watchdog. Concurrently, the usage of tools designed to dodge these barriers has surged.

Immediate Drop in Visitor Figures Following Rule Enforcement

The introduction of age vetting on 25 July caused an immediate fall in traffic to major online adult platforms, such as the leading site in the UK. Data shows that visitor numbers to this platform in August were 9.8 million, a decrease of 1.5 million compared to the same period in 2024.

In total, visitor numbers to the 10 most-visited adult services in the UK have now stabilized at a “lower level” than prior to the late July implementation date. Later analysis indicates this downward trend in site visits persisted past August.

Sharp Increase in Virtual Private Network Adoption to Evade Checks

In response to the new rules, adoption of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can bypass geographic blocks by masking internet traffic via another nation—more than doubled after 25 July.

User numbers peaked at more than 1.4 million in the middle of August, up from approximately 650,000 users before the verification were introduced. However, the watchdog stated that VPN usage has since fallen back, with latest figures standing at around 900,000. It added that the level of daily VPN use remains “much lower” than user numbers for pornography sites.

Teenagers Responding to Harmful Online Content

In other findings, the regulator's annual study revealed that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had taken action after seeing distressing content on the internet. Actions included reporting the material to the site to muting the user who shared it.

This survey was carried out prior to new rules came into force that require platforms to stop children from accessing dangerous content, such as material related to self-harm and pornography. The most common way teenagers came across such content was by scrolling through a social media feed, suggesting that algorithms were showing inappropriate material.

Ministers Launch Review of Adult Content Laws

In a related development, the ministers announced it would review the legislation relating to pornography to assess whether it is adequate in the ever-developing digital age.

“The review will look into the effectiveness of the existing law in regarding making illegal, for example, damaging depictions of incest and any forms of pornography which promote child sexual abuse,” said a justice minister.

Campaigners Call For Tighter Online Controls

Campaigners for better 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 casting youthful performers dressed as children.

Proposed changes to legislation seek to:

• Ban pornography where adults are impersonating children, sometimes recorded in environments like children’s bedrooms.
• Broaden the crime of creating an exploitative portrayal of a child to cover material where an older performer plays the role of a child.
• Introduce tighter regulation on familial abuse pornography, which studies suggests is often promoted by site algorithms.
• Introduce further restrictions on “nudification” software, potentially making it an illegal act to own tools designed to create private images without permission.
• Create a new, independent oversight agency to conduct inspections on adult platforms and respond to complaints of unlawful content.

The campaigners contend that these steps would ensure the safeguards that have existed for years offline finally are extended to the online sphere.