Traffic to Pornhub has dropped sharply since the United Kingdom began enforcing stricter age verification requirements under the Online Safety Act, according to new industry data.

Analysis by digital intelligence firm Similarweb found that the adult site lost more than a million daily visitors from the UK in early August compared with its July average. Between August 1 and 9, Pornhub’s daily traffic fell from around 3.2 million to roughly 2 million users.

The decline follows new rules that came into effect on July 25, requiring adult platforms to verify users’ ages before granting access. The measures are intended to make it harder for people under 18 to view explicit content online.

Under the Online Safety Act, adult sites must use robust verification methods such as government-issued ID checks, third-party age verification providers, or face-to-face confirmation to ensure users are over the legal age. These systems are designed to protect minors while limiting the collection of personal data, often by using encrypted, third-party verification, so sites do not directly store sensitive information.

Failure to comply can result in platforms being blocked in the UK or fined up to £18 million, or 10% of their global annual turnover, whichever is higher.

However, researchers also found that traffic to unregulated adult sites, which do not carry out age checks, has increased, raising concerns that users may be turning to platforms hosting more extreme or illegal content.

“As we’ve seen in many jurisdictions around the world, there is often a drop in traffic for compliant sites and an increase in traffic for non-compliant sites,” a Pornhub spokesperson told the BBC.

The Online Safety Act 2023 is part of a wider government initiative to create a safer digital environment. It places legal duties on tech companies, social media platforms, and search engines to protect users from harmful content, swiftly remove illegal material, and prevent misuse of their services.

Regulators will have powers to enforce compliance, with Ofcom overseeing investigations and penalties.