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Pornhub has declared that it will limit access to its website within the United Kingdom due to newly implemented, stricter age verification rules for adult content. Starting from 2 February, only users who have previously registered accounts on Pornhub will be able to view its material. The company attributes this decision to what it describes as the failure of the Online Safety Act (OSA) to adequately prevent minors from encountering pornography online.
In October, the site’s parent company, Aylo, revealed that since the enforcement of the law, Pornhub’s UK web traffic had dropped by 77%. The UK regulator, Ofcom, has stated that the enhanced age verification measures are effectively achieving their intended goal of blocking children from accessing inappropriate content. An Ofcom spokesperson emphasized that adult content providers must either comply with mandatory age checks or restrict access to UK users, and added that discussions with Aylo would continue to clarify the company’s change in approach.
Pornhub remains the leading adult website in the UK according to data from Similarweb. Prior to the new regulations, many sites, including Pornhub, had implemented systems requiring UK visitors to prove they were over 18. Alex Kekesi, Aylo’s head of community and brand, described the decision to restrict access as “difficult.” She criticized the legislation, pointing out that while Pornhub complies with the law, “thousands of irresponsible porn sites will still be easy to access.” Kekesi also expressed initial optimism about Ofcom’s ability to enforce the law, but six months in, she said the experience suggests the Online Safety Act has not succeeded in its objective.
Other Aylo-owned adult sites like YouPorn and Redtube will also apply these same restrictions. Solomon Friedman from Ethical Capital Partners, Aylo’s owner, acknowledged Ofcom’s good faith efforts but argued the fundamental issue lies with the law itself, calling it “impossible to succeed.” He pointed out that despite the requirements, people can still easily access pornography online. Emma Drake, a legal expert focusing on online safety and privacy, noted that although riskier adult content sites might see increased traffic, overall adult usage of porn sites has declined, implying that barriers at major sites still offer significant protection. Both Friedman and Ofcom see potential for device manufacturers to introduce more efficient, privacy-sensitive controls at the hardware level, but cybersecurity experts caution that no single solution is foolproof, especially given workarounds like Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), which have seen a spike in downloads in the UK following the introduction of age verification laws. Recently, the House of Lords has voted in favor of legislation to prohibit children’s access to VPN services in an effort to close such loopholes
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