British Adult Content Site Visits Declines After Age Verifications, But VPN Use Surges, States Regulator

Visitor numbers to adult content platforms in the United Kingdom has decreased markedly after the enforcement of mandatory age verification earlier this year, according to the country's communications watchdog. Simultaneously, the use of specialist software designed to circumvent these barriers has risen.

Immediate Fall in Visitor Figures After Rule Implementation

The introduction of age verification on 25 July resulted in an swift decline in traffic to leading online adult platforms, such as the leading provider in the UK. Figures indicates that visitor numbers to this platform in August reached 9.8 million, a decrease of 1.5 million from the same period in 2024.

In total, traffic to the ten most-visited adult services in the UK have now stabilized at a significantly reduced level than prior to the late July deadline. Later analysis suggests this slump in viewing persisted beyond August.

Sharp Increase in VPN Usage to Evade Restrictions

Reacting to the new rules, use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can get around location-based restrictions by masking connections via another nation—surged after 25 July.

Usage reached a high at more than 1.4 million in mid-August, rising from approximately 650,000 users prior to the verification began. Subsequently, the regulator stated that VPN usage has afterwards fallen back, with latest numbers standing at around 900,000. It clarified that the volume of regular VPN use is “much lower” than user numbers for adult services.

Young People Responding to Harmful Material

In other findings, the regulator's report found that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had taken action after encountering damaging content on the internet. Actions ranged from reporting the material to the platform to blocking the user who shared it.

This research was conducted before new rules took effect that compel social media companies to stop children from seeing dangerous content, including material related to self-harm and pornography. The primary way young people encountered such content was by looking through a social media timeline, suggesting that algorithms were showing harmful material.

Ministers Launch Examination of Adult Content Laws

In a related development, the ministers stated it would examine the criminal law governing pornography to assess whether it is “fit for purpose” in the ever-developing digital age.

“The review will look into the efficacy of the current law in relation to criminalising, among other things, harmful depictions of familial abuse and any forms of pornography which promote the abuse of children,” said a justice minister.

Campaigners Call For Tighter Online Regulations

Campaigners for better regulation of online pornography have urged the government to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring simulated familial abuse or that appears to promote abuse by using young-looking adults portraying children.

Proposed amendments to legislation seek to:

• Prohibit pornography where adults are impersonating children, often recorded in settings like children’s bedrooms.
• Broaden the offence of making an indecent image of a child to include material where an adult plays the role of a child.
• Introduce tighter regulation on incest-themed pornography, which studies indicates is heavily recommended by site algorithms.
• Introduce further controls on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an offence to own software designed to create private images without permission.
• Create a new, separate oversight agency to perform spot checks on adult platforms and respond to complaints of illegal content.

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