This is interesting and new. The latest twist in the ongoing battle between regulators, lawmakers and adult websites will shock millions of users. Access to sites will be blocked from Feb. 2 for any users not yet registered and verified.
This affects U.K. users for now and the country’s Online Safety Act — albeit Pornhub, the world’s largest operator, has taken broad issue with the way regulatory restrictions have been implemented. This is likely just the start of a campaign to change minds.
As reported by Politico, Pornhub parent, Aylo claims it has tried to comply with U.K. age verification regulations, “but visitors — both adults and under-18s — are flocking to non-compliant sites en masse.” The company argues the regulations don’t work, they just push users to websites that are flouting the regulations.
Aylo is pushing for device-based age verification, which almost certainly means smartphone-based software from Apple and Google. As things stand, Aylo says, “this law by its very nature is pushing both adults and children alike to the cesspools of the internet, to the most dangerous material possible.”
What’s actually happening in the U.K. and elsewhere is that users are turning to VPNs, masking their locations, pretending to be in countries or states where there are no bans or age verification. That’s what’s driving calls in the U.S., U.K. and elsewhere for restrictions on VPNs, as this unwinnable game of whack-a-mole continues.
In the world of least worst options, either smartphone-based age verification or VPN identify assurance is better than asking the porn sites themselves to register their own users. Those visiting adult websites want to put distance between themselves, the sites they visit and the content they view for understandable reasons.
The risks not doing this were slammed home by a recent Pornhub data breach, with the loss of personally identifiable information and viewing habits for registered users.