Facepalm: How frustrating must it feel to comply with a law only to be financially punished for doing so, while those who flout it are rewarded. That's what's happening in the UK, where the country's recent age verification rules have seen sites implementing the measures lose traffic to those that don't.
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, or other forms of official identification.
Most of the major porn sites like Pornhub and Xhamster have since introduced age verification systems to adhere to the law, though there are others which haven't, often because they can't afford to, are worried about visitor numbers falling, or just don't care about the UK's rules.
Regulator Ofcom has the power to impose fines of up to £18 million ($24.1 million) or 10% of worldwide revenue on companies that refuse to comply with the mandate. Senior managers at these firms could also be criminally liable if they repeatedly ignore the rules and may face up to two years in jail, forcing some firms to stop offering their services entirely in the country.
It shouldn't be too surprising to learn that despite third-party age-verification companies promising not to retain users' data or being able to see the pages they visit, many people aren't keen on handing over identifying information or facial scans before they indulge their foot fetish (or whatever). While VPNs are always an option, many porn lovers are simply no longer visiting sites with age verification barriers and instead are seeking out those that don't abide by the stipulations.
The Washington Post found evidence of this theory. It examined the top 90 porn sites based on UK IP data using rankings platform Similarweb. It found that 14 of them still don't have extensive age-checking systems, and sure enough, traffic to these rule-breakers has exploded over the last two months – one of the sites' UK-based visits actually doubled. There's little doubt a lot of this traffic comes from competitors that now have ID checks, meaning they are losing visitors, ad revenue, and money from having to pay for these systems.
Ofcom is already investigating four companies which collectively run 34 pornography sites over whether they have implemented effective age-checking measures. And while there is a petition with over 533,000 names to repeal the Online Safety Act, you can guarantee that it'll never happen.
It's not just the UK where age checks are causing concern. In the US, their increased use is raising questions about security, privacy, and the shifting boundaries of internet freedom.