Pornhub Restricts Access in Australia Due to Age Verification Regulations

Pornhub's parent company Aylo has announced that it will restrict access to its free video-sharing platforms in Australia due to new age verification regulations.

Australia Implements Age Verification Rules

The new rules, which come into effect on March 9, require sites and platforms with the sole or predominant purpose of providing online adult content to implement age-assurance measures before allowing users to access such content. Failure to comply could result in civil penalties of up to 49.5 million Australian dollars (more than $35 million) per breach.

Australia's Designated Internet Services Code was finalized last year by Australia's online safety regulator, eSafety. The code targets adult websites serving Australian visitors and requires them to confirm every user is aged 18 or above before granting full access.

Pornhub Restricts Access in Response

Aylo has confirmed that users in Australia will be presented with a "safe for work" experience when they view the platform. The company stated that it would restrict access to adult material before the deadline on March 9th, citing concerns over data privacy and exposure to illegal content on noncompliant platforms.

Australia is following a similar approach to the U.K., which Aylo claims does not effectively protect minors and instead creates harms relating to data privacy and exposure to illegal content. As XBIZ reported in January, Aylo began blocking access to its free sites in the United Kingdom as of February 2, unless users had already set up accounts prior to that date.

Users Find Workarounds

Australian news site Crikey is reporting that Australian users attempting to access Aylo sites Redtube, YouPorn and Tube8 are already encountering a message saying the platforms are "not currently accepting new account registrations" in the region. However, some users have found workarounds using virtual private networks (VPNs) to bypass the restrictions.

Key Facts

• Australia's Designated Internet Services Code comes into force on March 9.
• Pornhub parent company Aylo will restrict access to its free video-sharing platforms in Australia due to new age verification regulations.
• The new rules require adult websites serving Australian visitors to confirm every user is aged 18 or above before granting full access.
• Failure to comply could result in civil penalties of up to 49.5 million Australian dollars (more than $35 million) per breach.

Australia's online safety regulator, eSafety, has stated that the new rules aim to protect children from harmful content and prevent exposure to adult material. However, experts have raised concerns over data privacy and users trying to trick age-verification technologies.