British Pornography Site Visits Falls After Age Checks, But Virtual Private Network Use Surges, States Watchdog

Access to adult content platforms in the UK has seen a notable drop since the enforcement of age-checking measures this summer, according to the country's communications authority. Concurrently, the adoption of specialist software designed to circumvent these blocks has risen.

Immediate Drop in Visitor Numbers After Law Implementation

The introduction of age vetting on 25 July led to an swift fall in traffic to leading online adult platforms, including the top site in the UK. Data shows that user traffic to this site in August stood at 9.8 million, a decrease of 1.5 million from the same period in 2024.

Overall, visitor numbers to the ten top adult services in the UK have now settled at a “lower level” than before the end-of-July implementation date. Later data indicates this slump in site visits persisted past August.

Surge in Virtual Private Network Adoption to Evade Checks

Reacting to the new regulations, use of VPN software—which can circumvent location-based blocks by masking internet traffic via another country—more than doubled following 25 July.

User numbers reached a high at more than 1.4 million in mid-August, up from approximately 650,000 users prior to the verification were introduced. Subsequently, the watchdog stated that VPN usage has afterwards decreased, with current numbers at around 900,000. It added that the volume of daily VPN use remains “much lower” than user numbers for pornography services.

Teenagers Responding to Damaging Material

Elsewhere, the regulator's report revealed that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had acted after seeing harmful content on the internet. Actions ranged from reporting the content to the platform to blocking the user who shared it.

This research was conducted prior to new rules took effect that compel social media companies to stop children from accessing harmful content, including material related to self-harm and pornography. The primary way teenagers came across such content was by scrolling through a platform feed, suggesting that algorithms were serving harmful material.

Government Launch Examination of Pornography Legislation

In a related development, the government stated it would examine the criminal law governing pornography to consider whether it is “fit for purpose” in the modern digital age.

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

Advocates Call For Stricter Digital Regulations

Advocates for better regulation of online pornography have urged the authorities to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring incest scenes or that appears to promote abuse by casting youthful performers dressed as children.

Suggested amendments to government bills seek to:

• Prohibit pornography where performers are impersonating children, often recorded in settings like children’s bedrooms.
• Broaden the crime of making an exploitative portrayal of a child to include material where an older performer plays the role of a child.
• Introduce stricter controls on incest-themed pornography, which studies indicates is often promoted by platform systems.
• Introduce additional controls on “nudification” software, potentially making it an illegal act to own tools designed to create private images without permission.
• Create a new, independent regulatory body to perform inspections on adult platforms and respond to reports of illegal content.

The advocates argue that these steps would ensure the safeguards that have existed for years offline finally apply to the online sphere.