US EditionAge Verification Law for ‘Adult Content’ Hurting Sites that Comply, Helping Those Who Don't: Report
The Online Safety Act's age verification has caused a 45% drop in UK visits to Pornhub, while 14 non-compliant sites saw traffic double, according to Similarweb data.
- The UK has begun implementing the Online Safety Act, mandating that adult websites confirm users' ages through methods like government-issued identification or facial recognition.
- This enforcement followed growing concerns over minors' access to adult content and calls for similar laws in the US and other countries.
- A Washington Post analysis of the top 90 porn sites found that 14 sites without age checks experienced a large surge in UK visitor traffic, while compliant sites' visits declined.
- University of Toronto researcher John Scott-Railton described the situation as a clear example of unintended effects, explaining that the law reduces visits to compliant websites while pushing users toward those that do not enforce age restrictions.
- The results suggest the law may backfire by rewarding rule-ignoring sites, raising privacy concerns, and encouraging minors toward riskier online content.
12 Articles
12 Articles
UK porn viewers ditch age-verified sites for rule-breakers without ID checks
In July, the UK Online Safety Act mandated that sites featuring adult content, which covers the likes of pornography sites and even social media platforms, must introduce effective age-checking systems. That means "click here if you're over 18" popups no longer suffice – visitors must hand over selfies, government IDs,...Read Entire Article
Age verification law for ‘adult content’ hurting sites that comply, helping those who don't: Report
The UK's age-verification law for adult websites resulted in decreased traffic for compliant sites and increased visitors on the apps who chose to ignore the mandate. While supporters call for it's widespread implementation to protect children, others argue that these laws might pose security risks for users.
TechCrunch
technewstube.comUK age check law seems to be hurting sites that comply, helping those that don’t
The U.K. recently started enforcing new age-check rules, and The Washington Post reports that it’s already having a significant effect on traffic to porn sites.
Age verification laws are killing web traffic
With the UK having recently brought the Online Safety Act into force, age verification laws are having a huge effect on traffic to web sites. Predictably, sites which comply with age verification requirements have noticed a marked drop-off in visitor numbers, while the opposite is true for non-compliant sites. In the UK, it is – currently – only pornographic sites that are supposed to implement age verification (although other sites are supposed…
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