British Adult Content Traffic Falls Following Identity Checks, But VPN Usage Surges, Reports Regulator

Access to pornography platforms in the United Kingdom has fallen significantly after the enforcement of age-checking measures this summer, according to the country's communications regulator. Concurrently, the adoption of tools designed to bypass these blocks has risen.

Sharp Fall in Visitor Figures Following Rule Enforcement

The enforcement of age vetting on 25 July led to an immediate decline in traffic to leading pornography sites, such as the top site in the UK. Figures reveals that user traffic to this site in August stood at 9.8 million, a drop of 1.5 million from the equivalent month in 2024.

Overall, traffic to the 10 top pornography sites in the UK have now stabilized at a “lower level” than before the late July deadline. Later analysis suggests this slump in viewing persisted beyond August.

Surge in Virtual Private Network Usage to Evade Restrictions

In response to the new regulations, use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can bypass location-based restrictions by routing connections through another nation—surged following 25 July.

Usage peaked at over 1.4 million in mid-August, up from around 650,000 users before the verification began. However, the watchdog noted that VPN usage has afterwards fallen back, with latest figures standing at around 900,000. It added that the volume of daily VPN use is “much lower” than user numbers for pornography sites.

Young People Responding to Damaging Online Content

Elsewhere, the regulator's annual study revealed that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had acted after encountering distressing content online. Steps taken ranged from flagging the content to the platform to blocking the user who posted it.

This research was carried out before new regulations took effect that compel platforms to prevent children from accessing harmful content, including material related to self-harm and adult material. The primary way young people encountered such content was by looking through a platform timeline, indicating that recommendation systems were serving harmful material.

Government Announce Examination of Adult Content Legislation

In a related development, the ministers announced it would examine the criminal law relating to pornography to consider whether it is effective in the ever-developing online world.

“The examination will look into the efficacy of the existing law in regarding making illegal, among other things, harmful depictions of incest and any types of pornography which encourage the abuse of children,” said a justice minister.

Campaigners Call For Stricter Digital Controls

Advocates for tighter control of online pornography have urged the authorities to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring incest scenes or that encourages child sexual abuse by casting youthful performers dressed as children.

Proposed changes to government bills seek to:

• Prohibit pornography where adults are mimicking children, often filmed in environments like children’s bedrooms.
• Extend the crime of making an indecent image of a child to cover material where an adult plays the role of a child.
• Apply stricter controls on incest-themed pornography, which studies suggests is often promoted by site algorithms.
• Add additional restrictions on “nudification” software, potentially making it an illegal act to possess tools designed to create non-consensual nude images.
• Establish a new, separate regulatory body to perform spot checks on adult platforms and respond to complaints of unlawful content.

The campaigners argue that these measures would ensure the safeguards that have existed for years offline finally are extended to the digital age.