UK Pornography Traffic Falls After Identity Checks, But VPN Usage Surges, States Regulator

Visitor numbers to pornography platforms in the UK has seen a notable drop after the roll-out of mandatory age verification earlier this year, according to the nation's communications watchdog. At the same time, the adoption of tools designed to circumvent these restrictions has risen.

Immediate Drop in Visitor Numbers Following Law Implementation

The introduction of age verification on 25 July led to an prompt fall in traffic to leading pornography sites, such as the leading provider in the UK. Figures indicates that user traffic to this site in August were 9.8 million, a drop of 1.5 million from the same period in 2024.

Overall, traffic to the ten most-visited pornography sites in the UK have now stabilized at a “lower level” than prior to the end-of-July deadline. Later analysis shows this decline in viewing continued past August.

Surge in Virtual Private Network Adoption to Bypass Restrictions

In response to the new regulations, adoption of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can circumvent location-based blocks by routing internet traffic via another country—increased dramatically following 25 July.

User numbers reached a high at more than 1.4 million in the middle of August, rising from approximately 650,000 users before the checks were introduced. However, the watchdog noted that VPN usage has afterwards fallen back, with current figures standing at approximately 900,000. It added that the volume of regular VPN use remains “much lower” than traffic for pornography services.

Young People Taking Action to Damaging Online Content

Elsewhere, the watchdog's annual study revealed that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had acted after encountering harmful content online. Actions ranged from reporting the material to the site to blocking the person who posted it.

This research was conducted prior to new regulations took effect that require social media companies to prevent children from accessing dangerous content, including material related to suicide and pornography. The most common way teenagers came across such content was by scrolling through a platform timeline, indicating that recommendation systems were showing harmful material.

Ministers Launch Examination of Pornography Laws

In a related development, the ministers stated it would examine the legislation governing pornography to assess whether it is effective in the modern digital age.

“The review will look into the efficacy of the current law in relation to making illegal, for example, damaging portrayals of incest and any types of pornography which encourage the abuse of children,” stated a government official.

Advocates Call For Tighter Online Regulations

Campaigners for tighter regulation of adult content have called on the government to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring incest scenes or that appears to promote child sexual abuse by using youthful performers dressed as children.

Proposed amendments to government bills aim to:

• Prohibit pornography where adults are mimicking children, often recorded in environments like children’s bedrooms.
• Broaden the crime of creating an exploitative portrayal of a child to include material where an adult acts the part of a child.
• Introduce tighter controls on incest-themed pornography, which studies suggests is often promoted by site algorithms.
• Add additional controls on “nudification” software, potentially making it an offence to own tools designed to create private images without permission.
• Establish a new, independent oversight agency to perform spot checks on adult platforms and respond to reports of illegal content.

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