British Adult Content Site Visits Declines Following Identity Verifications, Yet VPN Use Surges, States Regulator
Traffic to adult content websites in the United Kingdom has fallen significantly after the enforcement of mandatory age verification earlier this year, as reported by the nation's communications authority. Simultaneously, the usage of specialist software designed to bypass these restrictions has risen.
Sharp Drop in User Figures After Law Enforcement
The introduction of age verification on 25 July led to an immediate reduction in visits to leading online adult platforms, including the most visited site in the UK. Data indicates that user traffic to this platform in August were 9.8 million, a decline of 1.5 million compared to the equivalent month in 2024.
In total, visitor numbers to the 10 top adult services in the UK have now settled at a significantly reduced level than prior to the end-of-July implementation date. Subsequent analysis suggests this decline in viewing continued past August.
Surge in VPN Usage to Bypass Checks
Reacting to the new rules, use of VPN software—which can get around location-based blocks by masking internet traffic via another nation—surged following 25 July.
User numbers peaked at more than 1.4 million in mid-August, rising from around 650,000 users before the checks began. However, the regulator stated that VPN usage has since decreased, with latest numbers at around 900,000. It clarified that the level of regular VPN use remains “much lower” than traffic for adult sites.
Teenagers Taking Action to Harmful Online Content
In other findings, the watchdog's report found that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had acted after encountering harmful content online. Steps taken included flagging the material to the platform to blocking the user who shared it.
This survey was conducted prior to new regulations came into force that compel social media companies to prevent children from seeing harmful content, such as material related to suicide and pornography. The most common way young people encountered such content was by scrolling through a social media feed, indicating that algorithms were showing harmful material.
Ministers Launch Review of Adult Content Laws
In a related development, the government announced it would review the criminal law relating to pornography to consider whether it is adequate in the modern online world.
“The examination will look into the efficacy of the current law in regarding criminalising, for example, harmful depictions of incest and any forms of pornography which encourage child sexual abuse,” stated a government official.
Campaigners Push For Stricter Digital Controls
Advocates for tighter control of adult content have called on the authorities to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring incest scenes or that encourages abuse by casting youthful performers dressed as children.
Proposed amendments to government bills seek to:
- Prohibit pornography where adults are impersonating children, often filmed in settings like children’s bedrooms.
- Broaden the crime of creating an indecent image of a child to cover material where an adult acts the part of a child.
- Introduce stricter controls on incest-themed pornography, which research indicates is heavily recommended by site systems.
- Introduce further controls on “nudification” software, potentially making it an offence to own software designed to generate non-consensual nude images.
- Establish a new, separate regulatory body to perform spot checks on adult platforms and act on complaints of unlawful content.
The advocates argue that these steps would ensure the safeguards that have existed for decades in the physical world finally are extended to the digital age.
