British Adult Content Traffic Falls Following Identity Checks, But Virtual Private Network Usage Spikes, States Regulator

Visitor numbers to pornography sites in the UK has seen a notable drop after the introduction of age-checking measures this summer, according to the country's communications authority. At the same time, the use of specialist software designed to bypass these restrictions has surged.

Immediate Drop in User Figures After Rule Enforcement

The introduction of age verification on 25 July resulted in an swift reduction in visits to leading online adult platforms, such as the leading provider in the UK. Figures indicates that user traffic to this site in August were 9.8 million, a decline of 1.5 million from the equivalent month in 2024.

In total, traffic to the ten top pornography sites in the UK have now settled at a “lower level” than before the late July implementation date. Later analysis indicates this slump in site visits persisted past August.

Sharp Increase in Virtual Private Network Adoption to Evade Restrictions

In response to the new regulations, adoption of VPN software—which can bypass location-based restrictions by masking connections through another nation—increased dramatically after 25 July.

Usage peaked at over 1.4 million in the middle of August, up from approximately 650,000 people prior to the verification were introduced. However, the regulator noted that VPN usage has since decreased, with latest numbers standing at around 900,000. It clarified that the level of daily VPN use remains “much lower” than traffic for pornography services.

Young People Taking Action to Harmful Online Content

Elsewhere, the regulator's report revealed that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had acted after encountering damaging content on the internet. Steps taken included reporting the content to the platform to muting the person who posted it.

This survey was carried out prior to new rules came into force that compel platforms to stop children from accessing dangerous content, such as material related to self-harm and pornography. The primary way teenagers encountered such content was by looking through a social media timeline, indicating that recommendation systems were showing harmful material.

Ministers Announce Examination of Pornography Legislation

In a related development, the ministers announced it would review the legislation relating to pornography to consider whether it is “fit for purpose” in the modern online world.

“The review will look into the effectiveness of the current law in relation to making illegal, among other things, harmful portrayals of familial abuse and any types of pornography which promote the abuse of children,” said a justice minister.

Campaigners Call For Stricter Online Regulations

Campaigners for tighter control of adult content have urged the authorities 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.

Suggested changes to legislation seek to:

• Ban pornography where performers are mimicking children, sometimes filmed in environments like children’s bedrooms.
• Extend the offence of creating an exploitative portrayal of a child to cover material where an older performer acts the part of a child.
• Apply tighter regulation on familial abuse pornography, which studies suggests is often promoted by site systems.
• Introduce additional controls on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an illegal act to own tools designed to create private images without permission.
• Create a new, separate regulatory body to perform spot checks on pornography sites and act on complaints of unlawful content.

The campaigners argue that these measures would ensure the safeguards that have existed for years offline finally apply to the digital age.