Overview

• England’s children’s commissioner, Dame Rachel de Souza, called for VPN providers to implement age assurance so under‑18s cannot bypass porn site checks.
• Government officials reiterated they will not ban VPNs but warned platforms that promote workarounds to young users face tough enforcement and heavy fines.
• Since the July 25 rollout of age verification, Similarweb data shows Pornhub’s UK visits fell about 47% in the first weeks, with more than one million fewer daily visits.
• VPN downloads surged to the top of app charts after the checks took effect, with providers such as NordVPN and Proton reporting sharp spikes in usage.
• Ofcom has launched investigations into operators behind dozens of adult sites for potential non‑compliance, as survey findings show 70% saw porn before 18 and most exposure was accidental via social platforms, led by X.