British Adult Content Site Visits Falls After Age Checks, Yet Virtual Private Network Usage Spikes, States Regulator

Visitor numbers to adult content platforms in the United Kingdom has seen a notable drop since the introduction of age-checking measures earlier this year, as reported by the nation's communications watchdog. Concurrently, the usage of specialist software designed to circumvent these restrictions has increased.

Sharp Fall in Visitor Numbers After Law Enforcement

The introduction of age verification on 25 July resulted in an prompt fall in visits to popular online adult platforms, including the most visited provider in the UK. Figures shows that visitor numbers to this site in August were 9.8 million, a drop of 1.5 million compared to the equivalent month in 2024.

In total, visitor numbers to the ten most-visited pornography sites in the UK have now stabilized at a “lower level” than before the end-of-July implementation date. Subsequent analysis shows this slump in viewing persisted beyond August.

Surge in VPN Adoption to Evade Restrictions

Reacting to the new rules, use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can get around location-based restrictions by routing internet traffic via another nation—increased dramatically after 25 July.

User numbers peaked at over 1.4 million in mid-August, up from approximately 650,000 people prior to the checks were introduced. Subsequently, the regulator stated that VPN usage has since steadily declined, with current numbers at around 900,000. It added that the level of regular VPN use remains “much lower” than traffic for adult services.

Young People Responding to Harmful Material

Elsewhere, the watchdog's report revealed that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had taken action after encountering damaging content on the internet. Actions included flagging the material to the site to blocking the user who posted it.

This survey was conducted before new regulations took effect that require platforms to stop children from seeing harmful content, such as material related to suicide and adult material. The most common way teenagers came across such content was by looking through a platform timeline, indicating that recommendation systems were showing harmful material.

Ministers Announce Review of Pornography Legislation

In a related development, the government stated it would examine the criminal law governing pornography to consider whether it is “fit for purpose” in the modern online world.

“The examination will investigate the effectiveness of the existing law in regarding making illegal, for example, harmful depictions of familial abuse and any forms of pornography which promote child sexual abuse,” said a government official.

Campaigners Push For Stricter Online Regulations

Advocates for better control of online pornography have called on the government to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring simulated familial abuse or that encourages abuse by using youthful performers dressed as children.

Proposed changes to government bills seek to:

• Ban pornography where performers are mimicking children, often filmed in settings like children’s bedrooms.
• Extend the crime of making an indecent image of a child to include material where an older performer acts the part of a child.
• Apply stricter regulation on familial abuse pornography, which studies suggests is heavily recommended by site algorithms.
• Introduce further controls on “nudification” software, potentially making it an offence to possess software designed to generate non-consensual nude images.
• Create a new, separate oversight agency to conduct spot checks on pornography sites and respond to complaints of unlawful content.

The advocates contend that these measures would ensure the protections that have been enforced for years in the physical world finally are extended to the digital age.