British Adult Content Traffic Falls After Age Verifications, Yet Virtual Private Network Use Surges, Reports Regulator

Access to adult content platforms in the UK has seen a notable drop after the introduction of mandatory age verification this summer, according to the country's communications authority. Concurrently, the adoption of tools designed to dodge these restrictions has risen.

Sharp Fall in User Numbers After Law Implementation

The introduction of age vetting on 25 July led to an prompt reduction in visits to popular pornography sites, such as the top provider in the UK. Data shows that user traffic to this platform in August were 9.8 million, a decline of 1.5 million from the equivalent month in 2024.

In total, visitor numbers 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 data indicates this slump in viewing persisted past August.

Sharp Increase in Virtual Private Network Adoption to Evade Restrictions

In response to the new rules, use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can circumvent geographic blocks by masking connections via another country—more than doubled after 25 July.

User numbers peaked at over 1.4 million in the middle of August, rising from around 650,000 people prior to the checks began. Subsequently, the watchdog noted that VPN usage has afterwards fallen back, with current figures at around 900,000. It added that the level of daily VPN use is “much lower” than user numbers for pornography sites.

Young People Responding to Damaging Material

Elsewhere, the watchdog's report revealed that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had taken action after encountering harmful content online. Steps taken ranged from reporting the material to the platform to blocking the user who posted it.

This research was carried out prior to new regulations took effect that require platforms to stop children from accessing harmful content, such as material related to suicide and adult material. The most common way teenagers encountered such content was by scrolling through a platform feed, suggesting that algorithms were serving inappropriate material.

Government Announce Review of Adult Content Laws

In a related development, the government stated it would examine the criminal law governing pornography to assess whether it is effective in the modern digital age.

“The examination will look into the efficacy of the existing law in relation to criminalising, among other things, harmful depictions of familial abuse and any forms of pornography which encourage child sexual abuse,” stated a justice minister.

Advocates Push For Stricter Digital Regulations

Campaigners for better control of online pornography have called on the authorities to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring incest scenes or that appears to promote child sexual abuse by using young-looking performers dressed as children.

Suggested amendments to government bills seek to:

• Prohibit pornography where adults are impersonating children, sometimes recorded in environments like children’s bedrooms.
• Extend the crime of creating an indecent image of a child to cover material where an adult acts the part of a child.
• Apply tighter controls on incest-themed pornography, which research indicates is heavily recommended by platform systems.
• Introduce additional controls on “nudification” software, potentially making it an illegal act to possess software designed to create non-consensual nude images.
• Create a new, independent regulatory body to conduct inspections on pornography sites and respond to reports of illegal content.

The advocates argue that these measures would ensure the safeguards that have existed for decades in the physical world finally apply to the online sphere.