UK Adult Content Traffic Falls After Identity Checks, But VPN Usage Surges, Reports Watchdog

Access to adult content sites in the UK has fallen significantly after the enforcement of mandatory age verification earlier this year, as reported by the nation's communications regulator. At the same time, the usage of tools designed to dodge these blocks has increased.

Sharp Drop in User Figures Following Rule Enforcement

The enforcement of age vetting on 25 July caused an prompt reduction in traffic to popular online adult platforms, such as the top site in the UK. Figures indicates that user traffic to this site in August stood at 9.8 million, a decline of 1.5 million compared to 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 prior to the end-of-July deadline. Later analysis shows this slump in viewing continued beyond August.

Sharp Increase in VPN Adoption to Bypass Checks

Reacting to the new regulations, use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can bypass geographic restrictions by routing internet traffic via another country—increased dramatically after 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 verification began. Subsequently, the regulator noted that VPN usage has afterwards fallen back, with latest figures standing at around 900,000. It added that the volume of daily VPN use is “much lower” than traffic for adult sites.

Young People Responding to Harmful Online Content

In other findings, the watchdog's report found that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had acted after encountering harmful content on the internet. Actions included reporting the content to the platform to muting the user who shared it.

This survey was conducted prior to new rules came into force that compel social media companies to stop children from accessing dangerous content, such as material related to self-harm and adult material. The primary way young people encountered such content was by looking through a social media feed, suggesting that algorithms were showing harmful material.

Government Launch Review of Pornography Laws

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

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

Campaigners Call For Stricter Digital Regulations

Campaigners for tighter regulation of adult content have called on the government to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring simulated familial abuse or that encourages abuse by using youthful adults portraying children.

Suggested amendments to government bills aim to:

• Prohibit pornography where adults are mimicking children, sometimes filmed in environments like children’s bedrooms.
• Extend the crime of making an indecent image of a child to include material where an older performer plays the role of a child.
• Apply tighter regulation on incest-themed pornography, which studies suggests is heavily recommended by platform systems.
• Introduce further restrictions on “nudification” software, potentially making it an offence to possess tools designed to generate non-consensual nude images.
• Create a new, independent regulatory body to perform inspections on adult platforms and respond to reports of unlawful content.

The advocates contend that these steps would ensure the protections that have existed for decades in the physical world finally are extended to the online sphere.