UK Pornography Traffic Falls After Identity Checks, But VPN Use Surges, States Regulator

Access to pornography platforms in the United Kingdom has decreased markedly after the enforcement of age-checking measures this summer, according to the nation's communications regulator. Concurrently, the usage of specialist software designed to bypass these barriers has risen.

Immediate Fall in Visitor Numbers Following Law Enforcement

The introduction of age verification on 25 July caused an swift fall in traffic to popular pornography sites, such as the leading provider in the UK. Figures reveals that visitor numbers to this site in August reached 9.8 million, a decrease of 1.5 million from the same period in 2024.

Overall, visitor numbers to the ten most-visited adult services in the UK have now settled at a markedly decreased volume than before the end-of-July implementation date. Subsequent data indicates this slump in site visits continued past August.

Sharp Increase in Virtual Private Network Usage to Bypass Restrictions

Reacting to the new rules, adoption of VPN software—which can circumvent geographic restrictions by routing internet traffic via another country—more than doubled after 25 July.

Usage reached a high at over 1.4 million in mid-August, up from approximately 650,000 people prior to the verification began. Subsequently, the watchdog noted that VPN usage has since fallen back, with current numbers at approximately 900,000. It clarified that the level of daily VPN use remains “much lower” than traffic for pornography services.

Young People Responding to Damaging Online Content

In other findings, the watchdog's annual study found that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had taken action after encountering damaging content on the internet. Steps taken ranged from reporting the material to the site to blocking the person who shared it.

This survey was conducted prior to new regulations came into force that require platforms to stop children from accessing harmful content, such as material related to suicide and pornography. The primary way teenagers encountered such content was by looking through a social media timeline, indicating that recommendation systems were showing harmful material.

Ministers Launch Review of Adult Content Legislation

Separately, the ministers stated it would examine the criminal law relating to pornography to consider whether it is “fit for purpose” in the ever-developing digital age.

“The examination will look into the efficacy of the existing law in relation to making illegal, for example, damaging portrayals of incest and any forms of pornography which encourage child sexual abuse,” said a government official.

Campaigners Push For Stricter Online Regulations

Advocates for tighter regulation of online pornography have called on the government to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring simulated familial abuse or that appears to promote abuse by using young-looking adults dressed as children.

Suggested amendments to government bills seek to:

• Prohibit pornography where performers are mimicking children, often filmed in settings like children’s bedrooms.
• Broaden the crime of creating an indecent image of a child to include material where an older performer plays the role of a child.
• Introduce stricter regulation on incest-themed pornography, which research suggests is often promoted by site algorithms.
• Introduce additional restrictions on “nudification” software, potentially making it an illegal act to possess tools designed to create private images without permission.
• Create a new, independent regulatory body to conduct spot checks on pornography sites and act on complaints of illegal content.

The campaigners contend that these steps would ensure the safeguards that have been enforced for decades offline finally are extended to the digital age.