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The internet is experiencing a shift from a prurient age to a protective one. A surge of age-verification laws has emerged with the aim of preventing children from accessing explicit content, and this is set to revolutionize the way millions of people utilize websites.
Although adult websites do not make the top 10 most visited sites, they do occupy slots 11, 13, and 14, indicating their significant presence. Moreover, adult content has been credited with driving innovations such as faster broadband and video streaming.
Social media platforms also benefit from the traffic generated by adult content. For example, when Tumblr banned pornography in 2018, its popularity drastically declined.
One could argue that licentious websites embody the original idealistic vision of the internet as a place of unrestricted freedom, devoid of surveillance or censorship. However, this idealism wanes when one considers the explicit nature of the content and the lack of accountability for viewers.
Research indicates that young people accessing pornography is alarmingly prevalent. A recent study by the Children’s Commissioner for England revealed that 1 in 10 nine-year-olds had been exposed to pornographic material, while a French regulator discovered that a fifth of 10-year-old boys visited explicit websites at least once a month. Shockingly, these artificial and extreme videos often serve as a disturbing introduction to adult sexual relationships.
The proposed solution is implementing age barriers that require users to verify their adulthood—similar to presenting ID when purchasing alcohol. Some regions have already implemented measures of this kind. For example, Louisiana redirected individuals attempting to access pornography websites to an age-verification system. Other states, including Arkansas, Montana, Mississippi, and Utah, are following suit.
Although criticisms can be made regarding these measures—such as the choice of 18 as the age limit, despite many states allowing marriage at 16—there is a broad effort to find ways to prevent children from viewing explicit or harmful online content.
In the coming weeks, the UK’s long-awaited online safety bill is expected to become law, mandating age verification for pornography sites. For a long time, UK regulations were outdated, focusing on the sale of films and display of “indecent matter.” Attempts to modernize these laws were previously stalled. However, the government has now resurrected the issue.
Choosing an effective and secure age verification method that does not compromise privacy remains a challenge, as there is the risk of virtual private networks (VPNs) being used to bypass age restrictions.
A recent example of this challenge occurred in Australia, where plans to enforce age verification on pornography websites were abandoned. Instead, the responsibility of protecting children was entrusted to parents, who were provided with an educational platform to help them install software to limit their kids’ access to certain sites. However, additional restrictions are likely to be implemented.
Unsurprisingly, the loudest opposition to age verification comes from adult website owners and privacy activists. The non-profit organization Electronic Frontier Foundation, based in San Francisco, denounced the measures as “surveillance systems.” Aylo, the owner of adult entertainment sites including Pornhub and Brazzers, expressed support for age verification but criticized its implementation.
“Pornhub was one of the few sites to comply with the new law [in Louisiana],” stated a spokesperson for the company. “Since then, our traffic in Louisiana dropped approximately 80 percent.” Instead of placing the burden on platforms to verify users’ ages, Aylo suggests enhancing controls on children’s devices.
However, age verification extends beyond adult content. Meta announced a partnership with online age-verification company Yoti to incorporate their tools into their dating site. Amazon has also introduced a palm-based identity service to two bars in Denver, allowing them to verify customers’ age for alcohol consumption. It appears that this technology could become widespread.
Age verification is a blunt instrument. Online users are unlikely to willingly upload their driver’s license or passport to access sites that are legally permissible. Nevertheless, the imperative to protect young children tends to garner unwavering support. Online privacy, already somewhat elusive, is about to suffer another blow.
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