Mandatory Age-Gating Under Online Safety Act Sparks Five Million Extra Daily Age Checks on UK Pornography Sites
Fresh data from age-verification firms indicates that since the Online Safety Act’s new age-gating requirement took effect last Friday, UK internet services and third-party validators have processed roughly five million additional age checks every day. The regulation compels any website hosting pornography to deploy “highly effective” verification methods before granting access—an immediate boost to verification workloads across the country.
The Age Verification Providers Association (AVPA), which represents companies supplying age-check solutions in Great Britain, reported this sharp surge. Iain Corby, the AVPA’s chief executive, said, “With the Online Safety Act’s codes enforced from last Friday, we’ve recorded around five million extra age verifications per day as UK users attempt to reach regulated, adult-only sites.” This jump not only reflects providers striving to comply but also underscores a consumer pivot toward technical workarounds.
In fact, the age-gating mandate has driven a notable spike in virtual private network (VPN) adoption. VPN apps—capable of masking IP addresses to evade regional or regulatory blocks—now occupy four of the five top spots among free downloads in Apple’s UK store. Proton VPN leads the pack, boasting an extraordinary 1,800 percent increase in UK downloads since the Act’s launch, according to app-market analytics.
Ofcom, the UK communications regulator charged with enforcing the Online Safety Act, signaled last week that it may open formal investigations this week into providers whose age checks fall short. The regulator confirmed it will review a broad range of services and could launch targeted probes where “highly effective” verification criteria are unmet. Ahead of the July 25 deadline, the AVPA surveyed its members—each handling verifications on behalf of UK pornography sites—requesting daily tallies of age checks under the new standards.
Before this overhaul, most UK adult sites relied on a simple checkbox—often labeled “I confirm I am over 18”—to meet age requirements, a practice now judged inadequate under the law. An Ofcom spokesperson warned, “Until now, children could inadvertently encounter pornography and other potentially harmful content without even searching for it. Improved age checks will help block such unintended exposure.” The regulator also cautioned providers against encouraging VPN use as a means to bypass legal age barriers.
Penalties for breaching the Act’s age-verification rules range from fines of up to 10 percent of global turnover to outright blocking of non-compliant websites or apps in extreme cases. Ofcom-endorsed age-assurance techniques offered by AVPA member firms include AI-driven facial age estimation via live video or still images; verification through credit-card, banking, or mobile-network records; government-ID scanning matched against real-time selfies; and secure digital-identity wallets holding proof-of-age credentials. Major adult streaming platforms—including Pornhub, the UK’s most visited pornography site—have publicly committed to implementing these stringent controls.
Beyond explicit adult content, the Online Safety Act also requires digital services to protect minors from material encouraging suicide, self-harm, or eating disorders, and to suppress hate or abusive content targeting groups protected under the Equality Act, such as those based on race, age, or gender. Some free-speech advocates argue that these child-protection measures have been applied too broadly, pointing to benign forums—like Reddit communities focused on alcohol recovery—that have been age-gated or restricted. Both Reddit and X (formerly Twitter) have been approached for comment.
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