UK Adult Content Site Visits Falls Following Age Checks, But VPN Usage Surges, Reports Watchdog
Access to adult content sites in the UK has fallen significantly since the introduction of age-checking measures earlier this year, as reported by the nation's communications watchdog. Concurrently, the use of specialist software designed to circumvent these restrictions has increased.
Sharp Fall in User Figures After Rule Implementation
The introduction of age verification on 25 July resulted in an immediate reduction in visits to popular pornography sites, including the most visited provider in the UK. Data reveals that visitor numbers to this site in August stood at 9.8 million, a drop of 1.5 million from the equivalent month in 2024.
In total, visitor numbers to the 10 top adult services in the UK have now settled at a markedly decreased volume than prior to the end-of-July deadline. Later analysis shows this downward trend in viewing persisted past August.
Surge in VPN Adoption to Evade Checks
Reacting to the new regulations, use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can circumvent geographic restrictions by routing internet traffic via another country—surged following 25 July.
User numbers reached a high at more than 1.4 million in mid-August, up from around 650,000 users before the verification began. However, the watchdog noted that VPN usage has since steadily declined, with current numbers standing at around 900,000. It clarified that the level of regular VPN use remains “much lower” than traffic for adult services.
Teenagers Responding to Harmful Online Content
Elsewhere, the regulator's annual study revealed that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had acted after seeing damaging content on the internet. Actions included flagging the content to the platform to muting the user who shared it.
This research was conducted before new regulations took effect that compel social media companies to prevent children from seeing harmful content, including material related to self-harm and adult material. The most common way teenagers encountered such content was by scrolling through a platform feed, indicating that algorithms were serving harmful material.
Ministers Announce Examination of Adult Content Laws
Separately, the ministers stated it would examine the legislation relating to pornography to assess whether it is adequate in the ever-developing digital age.
“The review will investigate the efficacy of the current law in relation to making illegal, for example, damaging portrayals of incest and any forms of pornography which promote child sexual abuse,” said a government official.
Advocates Call For Tighter Digital Controls
Campaigners for tighter regulation of online pornography have called on the authorities to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring simulated familial abuse or that appears to promote child sexual abuse by casting young-looking 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 indecent image of a child to include material where an older performer acts the part of a child.
- Introduce tighter regulation on familial abuse pornography, which studies indicates is heavily recommended by site systems.
- Introduce further restrictions on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an illegal act to possess tools designed to create non-consensual nude images.
- Establish a new, independent regulatory body to perform spot checks on pornography sites and act on reports of illegal content.
The advocates argue that these measures would ensure the protections that have been enforced for decades offline finally apply to the online sphere.
