UK Pornography Traffic Declines After Identity Checks, Yet VPN Usage Surges, Reports Regulator

Visitor numbers to pornography platforms in the United Kingdom has seen a notable drop after the enforcement of mandatory age verification this summer, according to the country's communications regulator. At the same time, the adoption of tools designed to circumvent these barriers has risen.

Sharp Drop in User Figures Following Law Enforcement

The introduction of age vetting on 25 July led to an prompt decline in visits to popular online adult platforms, including the most visited provider in the UK. Data reveals that user traffic to this platform in August were 9.8 million, a decline of 1.5 million compared to the same period in 2024.

In total, visitor numbers to the 10 most-visited pornography sites in the UK have now settled at a significantly reduced level than prior to the end-of-July deadline. Later data suggests this slump in site visits persisted past August.

Surge in Virtual Private Network Adoption to Evade Restrictions

Reacting to the new rules, use of VPN software—which can get around location-based restrictions by routing internet traffic via another nation—more than doubled after 25 July.

Usage reached a high at more than 1.4 million in mid-August, rising from approximately 650,000 people prior to the verification began. Subsequently, the watchdog noted that VPN usage has afterwards fallen back, with latest numbers standing at around 900,000. It added that the volume of regular VPN use remains “much lower” than traffic for adult sites.

Young People Taking Action to Damaging Material

Elsewhere, the watchdog's report found that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had acted after seeing damaging content online. Actions ranged from reporting the content to the site to blocking the user who posted it.

This survey was conducted prior to new rules took effect that compel platforms to stop children from accessing harmful content, such as material related to suicide and pornography. The primary way young people encountered such content was by scrolling through a platform feed, suggesting that algorithms were serving inappropriate material.

Government Launch Examination of Pornography Legislation

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

“The examination will look into the effectiveness of the current law in relation to criminalising, among other things, harmful depictions of incest and any types of pornography which encourage the abuse of children,” said a justice minister.

Campaigners Push For Stricter Online Controls

Advocates for tighter control of adult content have called on the government to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring simulated familial abuse or that appears to promote abuse by casting young-looking performers dressed as children.

Proposed amendments to government bills seek to:

• Ban pornography where performers are mimicking children, often filmed in environments like children’s bedrooms.
• Broaden the crime of creating an indecent image of a child to include material where an older performer acts the part of a child.
• Introduce tighter regulation on incest-themed pornography, which research suggests is often promoted by site systems.
• Add further restrictions on “nudification” software, potentially making it an offence to own software designed to create private images without permission.
• Create a new, separate regulatory body to conduct spot checks on pornography sites and act on reports of unlawful content.

The campaigners contend that these steps would ensure the protections that have existed for years offline finally are extended to the digital age.