UK Adult Content Site Visits Falls After Identity Verifications, Yet VPN Use Surges, Reports Regulator

Access to pornography websites in the United Kingdom has decreased markedly after the introduction of mandatory age verification this summer, according to the nation's communications regulator. Concurrently, the usage of specialist software designed to dodge these blocks has surged.

Immediate Fall in User Numbers Following Law Enforcement

The enforcement of age verification on 25 July resulted in an immediate reduction in visits to popular pornography sites, such as the top site in the UK. Figures reveals that visitor numbers to this platform in August reached 9.8 million, a drop of 1.5 million from the equivalent month in 2024.

In total, visitor numbers to the ten top pornography sites in the UK have now stabilized at a markedly decreased volume than before the end-of-July deadline. Later data shows this slump in viewing persisted beyond August.

Surge in VPN Usage to Evade Restrictions

Reacting to the new regulations, adoption of VPN software—which can bypass location-based restrictions by masking internet traffic via another country—surged following 25 July.

Usage peaked at more than 1.4 million in the middle of August, up from around 650,000 people prior to the checks began. However, the regulator noted that VPN usage has afterwards fallen back, with latest figures at around 900,000. It added that the volume of regular VPN use remains “much lower” than user numbers for pornography services.

Young People Responding to Damaging Material

Elsewhere, the regulator's report found that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had acted after seeing distressing content on the internet. Steps taken included reporting the content to the platform to blocking the user who shared it.

This research was conducted before new regulations took effect that require social media companies to prevent children from seeing dangerous content, such as material related to self-harm and adult material. The most common way teenagers encountered such content was by looking through a platform timeline, indicating that recommendation systems were serving inappropriate material.

Ministers Announce Examination of Pornography Legislation

Separately, the government stated it would examine the criminal law relating to pornography to consider whether it is effective in the modern online world.

“The review will look into the efficacy of the existing law in regarding criminalising, for example, harmful portrayals of incest and any forms of pornography which encourage the abuse of children,” said a justice minister.

Campaigners Push For Tighter Online Regulations

Advocates for better control of online pornography have urged the authorities to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring simulated familial abuse or that appears to promote abuse by using youthful performers dressed as children.

Proposed amendments to government bills aim to:

• Prohibit pornography where adults are mimicking children, often filmed in environments like children’s bedrooms.
• Broaden the crime of making an indecent image of a child to include material where an adult acts the part of a child.
• Apply stricter regulation on familial abuse pornography, which research suggests is heavily recommended by platform algorithms.
• Introduce further controls on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an offence to possess software designed to generate private images without permission.
• Create a new, separate regulatory body to perform spot checks on pornography sites and respond to reports of unlawful content.

The campaigners argue that these measures would ensure the protections that have been enforced for decades offline finally apply to the online sphere.