British Pornography Traffic Falls Following Identity Checks, But Virtual Private Network Usage Spikes, States Watchdog

Visitor numbers to adult content platforms in the UK has seen a notable drop after the roll-out of mandatory age verification this summer, as reported by the nation's communications regulator. Simultaneously, the use of specialist software designed to circumvent these blocks has surged.

Sharp Fall in Visitor Numbers After Rule Enforcement

The introduction of age vetting on 25 July led to an swift decline in traffic to leading online adult platforms, such as the leading provider in the UK. Figures shows that user traffic to this site in August were 9.8 million, a drop of 1.5 million compared to the same period in 2024.

In total, visitor numbers to the 10 most-visited pornography sites in the UK have now stabilized at a markedly decreased volume than before the late July deadline. Subsequent analysis indicates this decline in viewing continued beyond August.

Sharp Increase in VPN Usage to Evade Restrictions

Reacting to the new regulations, adoption of VPN software—which can circumvent location-based blocks by masking connections through another country—increased dramatically after 25 July.

Usage peaked at over 1.4 million in mid-August, up from approximately 650,000 users prior to the checks began. Subsequently, the watchdog stated that VPN usage has since fallen back, with current numbers at around 900,000. It added that the level of regular VPN use remains “much lower” than user numbers for pornography services.

Young People Taking Action to Damaging Material

Elsewhere, the regulator's annual study found that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had taken action after encountering harmful content on the internet. Actions included flagging the content to the platform to blocking the person who shared it.

This survey was conducted before new regulations took effect that require social media companies to prevent children from seeing dangerous content, including material related to suicide and adult material. The most common way young people came across such content was by scrolling through a platform timeline, suggesting that algorithms were showing harmful material.

Ministers Announce Review of Pornography Laws

Separately, the ministers stated it would review the criminal law relating to pornography to consider whether it is “fit for purpose” in the ever-developing online world.

“The review will look into the efficacy of the existing law in regarding criminalising, for example, harmful depictions of incest and any types of pornography which promote child sexual abuse,” stated a justice minister.

Advocates Call For Stricter Online Controls

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

Proposed changes to legislation seek to:

• Ban pornography where adults are impersonating children, sometimes recorded in settings like children’s bedrooms.
• Extend the offence of making an exploitative portrayal of a child to cover material where an adult acts the part of a child.
• Apply stricter controls on incest-themed pornography, which studies indicates is often promoted by site systems.
• Introduce additional restrictions on “nudification” software, potentially making it an illegal act to own tools designed to create non-consensual nude images.
• Create a new, independent regulatory body to conduct spot checks on pornography sites and respond to complaints of illegal content.

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