UK Adult Content Traffic Falls Following Identity Verifications, But VPN Use Spikes, Reports Regulator
Access to pornography platforms in the UK has seen a notable drop since the enforcement of mandatory age verification this summer, as reported by the country's communications regulator. At the same time, the use of specialist software designed to circumvent these restrictions has increased.
Sharp Drop in Visitor Numbers Following Law Enforcement
The enforcement of age verification on 25 July led to an immediate reduction in visits to major online adult platforms, such as the most visited provider in the UK. Data reveals that user traffic to this site in August stood at 9.8 million, a decrease of 1.5 million compared to the equivalent month in 2024.
In total, visitor numbers to the ten top adult services in the UK have now stabilized at a “lower level” than prior to the end-of-July implementation date. Later data shows this decline in viewing persisted past August.
Sharp Increase in Virtual Private Network Usage to Bypass Checks
In response to the new regulations, use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can circumvent location-based blocks by masking internet traffic through another country—more than doubled after 25 July.
Usage peaked at more than 1.4 million in mid-August, rising from around 650,000 users before the verification began. However, the watchdog stated that VPN usage has afterwards fallen back, with current figures standing at around 900,000. It clarified that the level of regular VPN use remains “much lower” than traffic for pornography services.
Teenagers Taking Action to Damaging Material
Elsewhere, the watchdog's annual study revealed that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had taken action after seeing distressing content on the internet. Actions included reporting the content to the platform to muting the user who posted it.
This survey was carried out before new rules came into force that compel social media companies to stop children from accessing dangerous content, such as material related to suicide and pornography. The most common way teenagers came across such content was by looking through a platform feed, suggesting that recommendation systems were serving inappropriate material.
Government Announce Review of Adult Content Laws
Separately, the ministers announced it would review the criminal law governing pornography to assess whether it is adequate in the modern online world.
“The review will investigate the effectiveness of the current law in regarding making illegal, for example, damaging portrayals of incest and any types of pornography which encourage the abuse of children,” said a government official.
Advocates Call For Stricter Online Regulations
Advocates for tighter regulation of adult content have urged the government to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring incest scenes or that appears to promote abuse by casting young-looking adults portraying children.
Suggested changes to legislation aim to:
- Prohibit pornography where performers are impersonating children, often filmed in environments like children’s bedrooms.
- Broaden the offence of creating an exploitative portrayal of a child to include material where an adult acts the part of a child.
- Apply stricter controls on incest-themed pornography, which studies indicates is heavily recommended by platform systems.
- Add additional restrictions on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an illegal act to possess tools designed to create private images without permission.
- Create a new, separate regulatory body to perform spot checks on pornography sites and act on reports of unlawful content.
The advocates contend that these measures would ensure the safeguards that have been enforced for years in the physical world finally are extended to the online sphere.
