British Adult Content Site Visits Declines After Age Checks, But Virtual Private Network Use Spikes, Reports Watchdog
Visitor numbers to adult content platforms in the United Kingdom has decreased markedly after the introduction of mandatory age verification earlier this year, as reported by the country's communications watchdog. At the same time, the usage of tools designed to dodge these blocks has increased.
Immediate Fall in User Figures After Rule Enforcement
The enforcement of age vetting on 25 July caused an swift decline in traffic to leading pornography sites, including the most visited provider in the UK. Data shows that visitor numbers to this site in August reached 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 adult services in the UK have now stabilized at a significantly reduced level than before the end-of-July deadline. Subsequent analysis indicates this downward trend in viewing continued past August.
Sharp Increase in Virtual Private Network Adoption to Bypass Restrictions
Reacting to the new regulations, adoption of VPN software—which can bypass location-based restrictions by routing connections through another country—surged after 25 July.
User numbers reached a high at more than 1.4 million in mid-August, rising from around 650,000 users prior to the verification were introduced. However, the regulator noted that VPN usage has afterwards fallen back, with current numbers standing at around 900,000. It clarified that the volume of regular VPN use remains “much lower” than traffic for adult services.
Teenagers Taking Action to Harmful Material
In other findings, the watchdog's report revealed that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had acted after encountering damaging content online. Steps taken ranged from reporting the content to the platform to muting the person who posted it.
This research was carried out before new regulations came into force that require social media companies to prevent children from accessing dangerous content, such as material related to self-harm and pornography. The primary way teenagers came across such content was by scrolling through a social media timeline, suggesting that algorithms were showing harmful material.
Government Announce Review of Adult Content Legislation
In a related development, the ministers stated it would examine the criminal law governing pornography to assess whether it is “fit for purpose” in the modern online world.
“The review will investigate the effectiveness of the existing law in regarding making illegal, among other things, harmful portrayals of familial abuse and any forms of pornography which encourage the abuse of children,” said a justice minister.
Advocates Call For Stricter Digital Controls
Campaigners for tighter regulation of adult content have urged the authorities to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring incest scenes or that encourages child sexual abuse by using youthful adults dressed as children.
Suggested amendments to legislation seek to:
- Ban pornography where performers are mimicking children, sometimes filmed in environments like children’s bedrooms.
- Broaden the offence of creating an exploitative portrayal of a child to include material where an adult acts the part of a child.
- Apply stricter regulation on incest-themed pornography, which studies indicates is often promoted by platform systems.
- Introduce further controls on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an offence to own tools designed to generate non-consensual nude images.
- Establish a new, separate regulatory body to perform inspections on adult platforms and act on complaints of unlawful content.
The advocates argue that these measures would ensure the safeguards that have existed for decades in the physical world finally apply to the digital age.