UK Adult Content Site Visits Falls After Age Checks, But VPN Use Spikes, States Regulator

Visitor numbers to adult content sites in the UK has decreased markedly after the enforcement of age-checking measures this summer, according to the country's communications watchdog. Concurrently, the adoption of tools designed to bypass these restrictions has risen.

Immediate Drop in User Figures After Law Implementation

The enforcement of age verification on 25 July led to an prompt reduction in visits to major online adult platforms, such as the most visited site in the UK. Data indicates that visitor numbers to this platform in August stood at 9.8 million, a drop of 1.5 million from the equivalent month in 2024.

In total, visitor numbers to the 10 top adult services in the UK have now settled at a significantly reduced level than before the late July deadline. Later analysis indicates this downward trend in viewing persisted beyond August.

Surge in VPN Usage to Bypass Restrictions

Reacting to the new regulations, adoption of VPN software—which can bypass geographic blocks by routing connections via another country—surged after 25 July.

Usage peaked at over 1.4 million in the middle of August, up from approximately 650,000 people before the verification were introduced. Subsequently, the watchdog stated that VPN usage has afterwards decreased, with current figures at approximately 900,000. It added that the level of daily VPN use remains “much lower” than traffic for adult sites.

Young People Responding to Harmful Online Content

In other findings, the watchdog's annual study found that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had taken action after seeing damaging content on the internet. Steps taken ranged from reporting the content to the site to muting the person who shared it.

This survey was conducted prior to new rules took effect that compel platforms to stop children from accessing dangerous content, such as material related to self-harm and pornography. The primary way young people encountered such content was by looking through a social media feed, indicating that algorithms were showing inappropriate material.

Government Announce Review of Pornography Legislation

Separately, the ministers announced it would review the legislation governing pornography to assess whether it is effective in the ever-developing online world.

“The review will look into the efficacy of the existing law in regarding criminalising, for example, damaging depictions of familial abuse and any forms of pornography which promote child sexual abuse,” stated a justice minister.

Campaigners Push For Stricter Digital Controls

Advocates for tighter regulation 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 young-looking adults portraying children.

Suggested changes to legislation seek to:

• Ban pornography where adults are mimicking children, often filmed in settings like children’s bedrooms.
• Extend the offence of creating an indecent image of a child to cover material where an older performer plays the role of a child.
• Introduce tighter controls on incest-themed pornography, which research indicates is heavily recommended by site systems.
• Add additional restrictions on “nudification” software, potentially making it an illegal act to own software designed to generate non-consensual nude images.
• Create a new, separate regulatory body to perform spot checks on adult platforms and respond to complaints of unlawful content.

The campaigners contend that these measures would ensure the protections that have existed for years in the physical world finally are extended to the digital age.