UK Adult Content Site Visits Declines After Age Verifications, But VPN Usage Spikes, States Regulator
Access to adult content platforms in the United Kingdom has decreased markedly since the enforcement of age-checking measures earlier this year, according to the country's communications authority. At the same time, the usage of tools designed to bypass these barriers has increased.
Sharp Drop in Visitor Numbers After Law Enforcement
The enforcement of age verification on 25 July led to an swift decline in visits to leading online adult platforms, including the most visited provider in the UK. Figures reveals that visitor numbers to this platform in August reached 9.8 million, a drop of 1.5 million from the same period in 2024.
In total, visitor numbers to the ten top adult services in the UK have now stabilized at a “lower level” than before the late July deadline. Subsequent analysis shows this slump in viewing continued past August.
Surge in Virtual Private Network Adoption to Bypass Restrictions
In response to the new rules, adoption of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can get around location-based blocks by masking connections through another country—increased dramatically after 25 July.
Usage peaked at over 1.4 million in the middle of August, rising from approximately 650,000 people prior to the checks began. Subsequently, the watchdog noted that VPN usage has since fallen back, with latest figures at around 900,000. It added that the level of regular VPN use remains “much lower” than traffic for adult sites.
Teenagers Responding to Damaging Online Content
Elsewhere, the regulator's report found that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had taken action after encountering harmful content on the internet. Actions included reporting the content to the platform to blocking the person who posted it.
This research was carried out before new regulations took effect that require social media companies to prevent children from accessing harmful content, including material related to suicide and adult material. The most common way teenagers encountered such content was by looking through a social media feed, indicating that recommendation systems were showing inappropriate material.
Ministers Announce Review of Pornography Laws
In a related development, the ministers stated it would examine the criminal law relating to pornography to consider whether it is “fit for purpose” in the modern online world.
“The examination will look into the efficacy of the existing law in relation to making illegal, among other things, harmful depictions of incest and any types of pornography which encourage the abuse of children,” stated a justice minister.
Advocates Call For Tighter Digital Regulations
Advocates for better regulation of adult content have urged the government to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring simulated familial abuse or that appears to promote abuse by using young-looking adults portraying children.
Proposed amendments to legislation seek to:
- Prohibit pornography where performers are mimicking children, often filmed in settings like children’s bedrooms.
- Extend the offence of creating an indecent image of a child to include material where an older performer acts the part of a child.
- Introduce stricter controls on incest-themed pornography, which research suggests is heavily recommended by platform systems.
- Introduce additional controls on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an illegal act to own tools designed to generate non-consensual nude images.
- Create a new, independent regulatory body to conduct spot checks on pornography sites and act on reports of unlawful content.
The advocates contend that these measures would ensure the safeguards that have existed for years offline finally apply to the online sphere.
