British Adult Content Traffic Declines Following Identity Verifications, Yet Virtual Private Network Usage Surges, Reports Watchdog
Traffic to adult content sites in the UK has fallen significantly since the roll-out of mandatory age verification earlier this year, as reported by the country's communications authority. Simultaneously, the adoption of tools designed to dodge these barriers has risen.
Sharp Drop in Visitor Numbers Following Rule Enforcement
The enforcement of age vetting on 25 July led to an swift reduction in traffic to leading online adult platforms, such as the most visited provider in the UK. Data reveals that visitor numbers to this site in August were 9.8 million, a decline of 1.5 million from the equivalent month in 2024.
Overall, traffic to the ten most-visited adult services in the UK have now stabilized at a “lower level” than prior to the late July deadline. Subsequent data indicates this decline in site visits continued past August.
Surge in VPN Usage to Evade Restrictions
In response to the new regulations, use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can get around geographic restrictions by routing connections through another nation—increased dramatically after 25 July.
Usage peaked at over 1.4 million in mid-August, up from approximately 650,000 people before the checks were introduced. However, the regulator noted that VPN usage has since steadily declined, with current figures standing at approximately 900,000. It clarified that the level of daily VPN use is “much lower” than traffic for adult services.
Teenagers Taking Action to Damaging Online Content
In other findings, the watchdog's report found that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had acted after encountering harmful content online. Actions included reporting the material to the site to blocking the user who posted it.
This research was carried out prior to new regulations took effect that require platforms to stop children from seeing harmful content, such as material related to suicide and pornography. The primary way young people came across such content was by scrolling through a platform feed, suggesting that recommendation systems were showing harmful material.
Ministers Launch Review of Pornography Laws
Separately, the ministers announced it would review the criminal law relating to pornography to assess whether it is “fit for purpose” in the ever-developing digital age.
“The review will investigate the effectiveness of the existing law in relation to making illegal, for example, harmful portrayals of incest and any forms of pornography which promote the abuse of children,” stated a justice minister.
Campaigners Push For Stricter Digital Regulations
Advocates for better control of adult content have called on the government to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring simulated familial abuse or that appears to promote child sexual abuse by using youthful performers portraying children.
Suggested amendments to legislation aim to:
- Prohibit pornography where performers are mimicking children, often filmed in environments like children’s bedrooms.
- Extend the crime of making an exploitative portrayal of a child to include material where an older performer plays the role of a child.
- Apply tighter controls on incest-themed pornography, which research suggests is heavily recommended by site systems.
- Add further restrictions on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an illegal act to own tools designed to generate non-consensual nude images.
- Create a new, separate regulatory body to perform spot checks on adult platforms and act on reports of illegal content.
The campaigners contend that these measures would ensure the safeguards that have been enforced for years offline finally are extended to the digital age.
