UK Pornography Traffic Declines Following Age Verifications, Yet VPN Usage Spikes, States Watchdog

Traffic to adult content sites in the United Kingdom has decreased markedly since the roll-out of mandatory age verification this summer, as reported by the country's communications regulator. Simultaneously, the use of specialist software designed to dodge these blocks has surged.

Sharp Fall in Visitor Numbers After Rule Implementation

The enforcement of age verification on 25 July caused an immediate reduction in traffic to major pornography sites, including the leading provider in the UK. Data reveals that visitor numbers to this platform in August were 9.8 million, a drop of 1.5 million from the equivalent month in 2024.

In total, visitor numbers to the ten top pornography sites in the UK have now stabilized at a “lower level” than before the late July deadline. Later analysis indicates this decline in site visits persisted past August.

Surge in Virtual Private Network Usage to Evade Checks

Reacting to the new rules, adoption of VPN software—which can circumvent location-based restrictions by routing internet traffic through another country—surged after 25 July.

Usage reached a high at over 1.4 million in mid-August, rising from approximately 650,000 users before the verification were introduced. However, the regulator stated that VPN usage has afterwards fallen back, with latest numbers at approximately 900,000. It clarified that the level of daily VPN use is “much lower” than traffic for pornography services.

Teenagers Responding to Harmful Material

Elsewhere, the watchdog's report found that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had acted after seeing damaging content online. Actions included reporting the material to the platform to blocking the user who shared it.

This survey was conducted before new rules came into force that compel platforms to prevent children from accessing dangerous content, including material related to suicide and pornography. The most common way young people encountered such content was by scrolling through a platform feed, indicating that algorithms were serving harmful material.

Ministers Launch Review of Adult Content Legislation

In a related development, the government stated it would examine the legislation governing pornography to assess whether it is adequate in the ever-developing online world.

“The review will look into the efficacy of the current law in relation to making illegal, among other things, damaging depictions of incest and any forms of pornography which promote child sexual abuse,” said a justice minister.

Advocates Push For Stricter Digital Controls

Campaigners for better control of online pornography have urged the authorities 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.

Suggested changes to government bills aim to:

• Ban pornography where adults are mimicking children, sometimes recorded in settings like children’s bedrooms.
• Broaden the offence of creating an indecent image of a child to cover material where an older performer acts the part of a child.
• Introduce tighter controls on incest-themed pornography, which studies indicates is often promoted by platform algorithms.
• Add additional controls on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an illegal act to possess software designed to generate private images without permission.
• Create a new, independent regulatory body to conduct spot checks on pornography sites and respond to reports of illegal content.

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