British Pornography Traffic Falls After Identity Verifications, Yet Virtual Private Network Use Surges, States Watchdog

Access to adult content websites in the UK has fallen significantly since the roll-out of age-checking measures this summer, according to the nation's communications regulator. Simultaneously, the adoption of specialist software designed to bypass these restrictions has risen.

Immediate Fall in User Numbers After Law Implementation

The introduction of age vetting on 25 July led to an immediate fall in visits to major pornography sites, including the top site in the UK. Data reveals that user traffic to this site in August stood at 9.8 million, a decrease of 1.5 million from the equivalent month 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 before the end-of-July implementation date. Subsequent data suggests this downward trend in site visits persisted beyond August.

Surge in Virtual Private Network Adoption to Bypass Restrictions

In response to the new rules, adoption of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can bypass geographic restrictions by masking internet traffic through another country—surged following 25 July.

Usage reached a high at over 1.4 million in mid-August, up from around 650,000 users before the checks began. However, the watchdog stated that VPN usage has since decreased, with latest figures at around 900,000. It added that the volume of daily VPN use remains “much lower” than traffic for pornography sites.

Young People Taking Action to Damaging Online Content

Elsewhere, the regulator's annual study found that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had acted after encountering damaging content online. Actions included flagging the material to the platform to blocking the person who posted it.

This survey was carried out before new regulations took effect that compel social media companies to stop children from accessing harmful content, including material related to suicide and pornography. The most common way young people encountered such content was by scrolling through a social media timeline, suggesting that algorithms were showing harmful material.

Government Announce Review of Adult Content Legislation

Separately, the ministers stated it would examine the criminal law governing pornography to assess whether it is adequate in the modern online world.

“The review will investigate the efficacy of the existing law in relation to criminalising, for example, harmful depictions of familial abuse and any types of pornography which encourage child sexual abuse,” said a justice minister.

Advocates Push For Tighter Online Regulations

Advocates for better control of adult content have called on the government to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring incest scenes or that appears to promote child sexual abuse by using young-looking adults dressed as children.

Suggested amendments to government bills seek to:

• Ban pornography where performers are mimicking children, sometimes filmed in settings like children’s bedrooms.
• Broaden the offence of making an exploitative portrayal of a child to include material where an adult acts the part of a child.
• Apply stricter controls on familial abuse pornography, which research suggests is often promoted by platform algorithms.
• Add further controls on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an offence to own tools designed to generate non-consensual nude images.
• Create a new, separate oversight agency to conduct spot checks on adult platforms and act on complaints of unlawful content.

The advocates argue that these steps would ensure the safeguards that have been enforced for years offline finally are extended to the digital age.