Highlights
- Pornhub blocking unregistered UK users from 2 February citing regulatory compliance concerns.
- Parent company Aylo argues current age verification laws push users to non-compliant dangerous sites.
- Company advocates for smartphone-based age verification through Apple and Google instead.
Pornhub will block access for unregistered British users from February (2) in a dramatic escalation of its dispute with UK regulators over age verification requirements under the country's Online Safety Act.
The world's largest adult content operator, owned by parent company Aylo, is implementing the restriction despite claiming it has attempted to comply with regulations.
The company argues the current system is fundamentally flawed and counterproductive.
According to Politico, Aylo contends that while it has tried meeting UK age verification regulations, "visitors—both adults and under-18s—are flocking to non-compliant sites en masse."
The company maintains the regulations merely redirect users towards websites flouting the rules entirely.
Aylo is advocating for device-based age verification, likely meaning smartphone software from technology giants Apple and Google.
The company warns that current legislation "by its very nature is pushing both adults and children alike to the cesspools of the internet, to the most dangerous material possible."
Circumvention and risks
The implementation has prompted widespread use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) amongst users in Britain and elsewhere, allowing them to mask their locations and circumvent restrictions.
This behaviour is driving calls across the United States, United Kingdom and other jurisdictions for VPN restrictions, as regulators struggle with what critics describe as an unwinnable enforcement challenge.
Privacy concerns add another dimension to the debate. A recent Pornhub data breach exposed personally identifiable information and viewing habits of registered users, highlighting risks associated with site-based verification systems.
Industry observers suggest either smartphone-based age verification or VPN identity assurance represents preferable alternatives to requiring adult websites themselves to register users.
Visitors to such platforms understandably seek distance between themselves, the sites accessed and content viewed.
The February deadline affects only UK users currently, though Aylo's campaign suggests this could mark the beginning of broader resistance to similar regulatory approaches globally.
The company has taken particular issue with implementation methods rather than age verification principles themselves.
