Pornhub to Implement UK Government-Approved Age Verification

Pornhub is the most visited porn site in the UK and around the world, according to data from Similarweb.

It has been under scrutiny by regulators worldwide over its measures to prevent children accessing adult content. The European Commission announced an investigation into Pornhub, along with two other adult platforms, at the end of May. In the UK, Ofcom is probing several adult sites it believes may be failing to abide by its child safety rules.

Aylo's vice president of brand and community Alex Kekesi said Ofcom presented a variety of flexible methods of age assurance that were less intrusive than those it had seen in other jurisdictions. \"Ofcom recognises the scale of the challenge ahead and is approaching it with thorough consideration,\" he said. The regulator's model is \"the most robust in terms of actual and meaningful protection we've seen to date,\" he added. \"When governments and regulators engage with industry in good faith, the outcome is not just better compliance, it's smarter, more effective solutions\".

Aylo said it would introduce the new methods to check user ages on its sites by 25 July, but so far has not spelt out which technique for verifying users' ages it will use. Under the Online Safety Act, providers of platforms where children could encounter porn and harmful content must have measures in place to stop them accessing it. The Act requires this to take place chiefly through the use of technology that is \"highly effective\" in determining whether a user is 18.

Ofcom said in January this could include solutions such as photo ID matching, digital identity services or facial age estimation. Porn providers that fail to meet the Act's requirements could face enforcement action such as huge fines.

According to the source: BBC.