UK Pornography Traffic Declines After Age Checks, But Virtual Private Network Usage Spikes, Reports Regulator

Visitor numbers to adult content sites in the United Kingdom has fallen significantly since the enforcement of mandatory age verification earlier this year, according to the country's communications authority. At the same time, the use of specialist software designed to dodge these barriers has surged.

Immediate Drop in Visitor Figures After Rule Enforcement

The introduction of age vetting on 25 July resulted in an swift decline in traffic to major online adult platforms, such as the most visited provider in the UK. Data reveals that user traffic to this platform in August were 9.8 million, a drop of 1.5 million compared to the equivalent month in 2024.

In total, traffic to the ten most-visited adult services in the UK have now settled at a “lower level” than prior to the late July deadline. Subsequent analysis suggests this decline in site visits persisted past August.

Sharp Increase in VPN Adoption to Evade Checks

Reacting to the new regulations, use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can circumvent geographic blocks by masking connections through another country—more than doubled following 25 July.

Usage peaked at over 1.4 million in mid-August, rising from approximately 650,000 people prior to the checks began. Subsequently, the regulator stated that VPN usage has afterwards fallen back, with current figures standing at approximately 900,000. It added that the volume of regular VPN use is “much lower” than traffic for adult sites.

Teenagers Taking Action to Damaging Online Content

In other findings, the regulator's report revealed that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had taken action after encountering distressing content online. Steps taken included flagging the content to the platform to muting the user who posted it.

This research was carried out before new rules came into force that require platforms to stop children from seeing dangerous content, such as material related to self-harm and pornography. The primary way young people came across such content was by looking through a social media feed, indicating that algorithms were showing inappropriate material.

Ministers Launch Review of Pornography Laws

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

“The examination will investigate the effectiveness of the current law in regarding making illegal, among other things, harmful portrayals of incest and any forms of pornography which promote the abuse of children,” said a government official.

Campaigners Call For Tighter Digital Controls

Advocates for better regulation of online pornography have urged the government to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring incest scenes or that appears to promote child sexual abuse by using youthful adults dressed as children.

Suggested changes to legislation aim to:

• Ban pornography where adults are mimicking children, sometimes filmed in settings like children’s bedrooms.
• Broaden the offence of creating an indecent image of a child to cover material where an older performer acts the part of a child.
• Introduce stricter regulation on incest-themed pornography, which research indicates is often promoted by platform algorithms.
• Add further restrictions on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an illegal act to possess software designed to create private images without permission.
• Create a new, independent regulatory body to perform spot checks on pornography sites and act on reports of illegal content.

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