British Pornography Traffic Falls After Age Checks, But VPN Use Surges, States Regulator

Traffic to adult content websites in the UK has seen a notable drop after the introduction of mandatory age verification this summer, according to the country's communications watchdog. Simultaneously, the use of tools designed to dodge these blocks has surged.

Sharp Drop in Visitor Numbers Following Rule Implementation

The introduction of age vetting on 25 July caused an immediate fall in visits to popular online adult platforms, such as the top site in the UK. Data indicates that visitor numbers to this platform in August were 9.8 million, a decline 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 stabilized at a markedly decreased volume than prior to the late July deadline. Later analysis suggests this slump in viewing persisted beyond August.

Surge in Virtual Private Network Usage to Evade Checks

Reacting to the new regulations, use of VPN software—which can get around geographic blocks by routing connections through another country—more than doubled after 25 July.

User numbers peaked at over 1.4 million in mid-August, rising from approximately 650,000 people before the verification were introduced. Subsequently, the watchdog stated that VPN usage has since decreased, with current numbers standing at approximately 900,000. It added that the level of regular VPN use is “much lower” than traffic for pornography services.

Teenagers Taking Action to Damaging Material

Elsewhere, the regulator's annual study found that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had acted after seeing harmful content online. Actions ranged from flagging the content to the site to blocking the person who shared it.

This survey was conducted before new rules took effect that require social media companies to stop children from seeing harmful content, such as material related to self-harm and adult material. The most common way young people came across such content was by looking through a platform feed, indicating that recommendation systems were serving harmful material.

Government Announce Review of Pornography Legislation

Separately, the government announced it would examine the criminal law governing pornography to assess whether it is “fit for purpose” in the modern digital age.

“The review will look into the effectiveness of the current law in regarding making illegal, among other things, damaging portrayals of familial abuse and any forms of pornography which promote the abuse of children,” said a justice minister.

Advocates Call For Tighter Digital Regulations

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

Proposed changes to legislation aim to:

• Ban pornography where adults are mimicking children, often filmed in environments like children’s bedrooms.
• Broaden the crime of making an exploitative portrayal of a child to cover material where an adult plays the role of a child.
• Introduce stricter regulation on familial abuse pornography, which studies indicates is often promoted by site systems.
• Introduce additional controls on “nudification” software, potentially making it an offence to own software designed to generate private images without permission.
• Create a new, separate regulatory body to perform spot checks on pornography sites and act on complaints of unlawful content.

The campaigners contend that these measures would ensure the protections that have existed for years in the physical world finally are extended to the online sphere.