British Adult Content Traffic Declines Following Age Verifications, Yet Virtual Private Network Use Surges, States Watchdog

Access to adult content sites in the UK has decreased markedly since the roll-out of mandatory age verification earlier this year, according to the country's communications authority. Simultaneously, the adoption of tools designed to circumvent these barriers has risen.

Sharp Drop in User Numbers Following Law Enforcement

The introduction of age vetting on 25 July caused an immediate fall in traffic to popular online adult platforms, including the top provider in the UK. Data reveals that user traffic to this platform in August stood at 9.8 million, a drop of 1.5 million from the same period in 2024.

Overall, visitor numbers to the 10 most-visited pornography sites in the UK have now settled at a “lower level” than before the end-of-July implementation date. Subsequent analysis suggests this downward trend in viewing continued past August.

Sharp Increase in Virtual Private Network Adoption to Evade Restrictions

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

User numbers reached a high at more than 1.4 million in the middle of August, rising from approximately 650,000 people prior to the checks began. Subsequently, the regulator stated that VPN usage has since steadily declined, with latest numbers standing at approximately 900,000. It added that the level of daily VPN use is “much lower” than traffic for adult services.

Young People Responding to Damaging Material

Elsewhere, the regulator's report revealed that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had acted after encountering distressing content online. Steps taken ranged from reporting the material to the platform to blocking the user who shared it.

This survey was carried out prior to new regulations came into force that require social media companies to stop children from seeing harmful content, including material related to suicide and adult material. The primary way young people came across such content was by looking through a social media feed, indicating that recommendation systems were showing inappropriate material.

Government Announce Review of Adult Content Legislation

In a related development, the ministers announced it would review the criminal law governing pornography to assess whether it is “fit for purpose” in the ever-developing online world.

“The examination will investigate the effectiveness of the current law in regarding criminalising, among other things, harmful depictions of familial abuse and any types of pornography which promote the abuse of children,” said a justice minister.

Campaigners Call For Tighter Digital Controls

Advocates for better control of adult content have called on the authorities to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring incest scenes or that encourages abuse by using youthful performers portraying children.

Suggested changes to legislation aim to:

• Prohibit pornography where adults are impersonating children, sometimes recorded in settings like children’s bedrooms.
• Extend the crime of making an indecent image of a child to cover material where an older performer plays the role of a child.
• Apply stricter controls on familial abuse pornography, which studies suggests is heavily recommended by platform systems.
• Introduce further controls on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an illegal act to own software designed to create private images without permission.
• Establish a new, separate regulatory body to perform inspections on adult platforms and act on complaints of unlawful content.

The campaigners argue that these steps would ensure the protections that have existed for years offline finally are extended to the online sphere.