British Adult Content Site Visits Declines Following Identity Verifications, But Virtual Private Network Usage Spikes, States Watchdog
Visitor numbers to adult content sites in the UK has decreased markedly since the introduction of age-checking measures this summer, according to the country's communications authority. Simultaneously, the adoption of tools designed to bypass these barriers has risen.
Sharp Fall in Visitor Figures After Law Implementation
The introduction of age vetting on 25 July led to an swift fall in visits to major online adult platforms, including the leading site in the UK. Figures indicates that visitor numbers to this site in August were 9.8 million, a decline of 1.5 million compared to the same period in 2024.
Overall, traffic to the ten most-visited adult services in the UK have now settled at a significantly reduced level than before the end-of-July deadline. Subsequent data indicates this downward trend in viewing continued beyond August.
Surge in Virtual Private Network Adoption to Evade Checks
Reacting to the new regulations, adoption of VPN software—which can get around location-based restrictions by routing internet traffic through another nation—increased dramatically after 25 July.
User numbers reached a high at more than 1.4 million in the middle of August, rising from around 650,000 people prior to the verification were introduced. Subsequently, the regulator noted that VPN usage has afterwards steadily declined, with latest numbers standing at approximately 900,000. It clarified that the level of daily VPN use is “much lower” than traffic for adult services.
Teenagers Taking Action to Harmful Material
In other findings, the regulator's annual study revealed that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had acted after seeing damaging content online. Actions included flagging the material to the site to muting the person who posted it.
This survey was conducted prior to new rules came into force that require platforms to prevent children from accessing harmful content, such as material related to suicide and adult material. The primary way teenagers encountered such content was by looking through a platform timeline, indicating that recommendation systems were showing inappropriate material.
Ministers Announce Examination of Pornography Legislation
Separately, the ministers announced it would review the legislation relating to pornography to consider whether it is effective in the ever-developing online world.
“The review will investigate the efficacy of the current law in relation to making illegal, for example, damaging portrayals of incest and any types of pornography which encourage the abuse of children,” said a government official.
Campaigners Call For Stricter Online Controls
Campaigners for tighter control of online pornography have called on the authorities to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring incest scenes or that encourages child sexual abuse by casting youthful performers portraying children.
Proposed amendments to legislation aim to:
- Prohibit pornography where performers are impersonating 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 adult acts the part of a child.
- Introduce stricter controls on incest-themed pornography, which research suggests is heavily recommended by platform systems.
- Add additional controls on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an illegal act to possess tools designed to create non-consensual nude images.
- Establish a new, separate oversight agency to perform inspections on pornography sites and respond to 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.
