Adult entertainment website, Pornhub, is closing its doors for new users in the UK in response to the tougher age checks for adult sites introduced as part of the Online Safety Act (OSA).
Only age-verified users with an existing account will be able to access Pornhub from February 2, according to its parent company, Aylo, which labeled OSA as a "failed system" and said that it has "not achieved its intended goal of protecting minors." The update also applies to Aylo"s other platforms, including YouPorn and Redtube.
The age checks under the Online Safety Act were put into effect last year and caused Pornhub"s traffic to drop in the UK by 77% - a trend seen across adult sites in general. Moreover, a rise in searches for "proxy" and people turning to VPN services was also seen.
This happened after Pornhub and several other websites agreed to put robust age checks in place ahead of the deadline. UK regulator Ofcom has been given the task to ensure that porn sites comply with age check rules, with the power to impose fines.
While the law intends to prevent minors from accessing adult content, there are still alternative platforms allowing access while ignoring age checks and benefiting from increased traffic.
"We believe this framework in practice has diverted traffic to darker, unregulated corners of the internet, and has also jeopardized the privacy and personal data of UK citizens," said Alex Kekesi, Aylo"s VP Brand and Community.
The UK"s new age verification law has gained the attention of privacy groups, who argue that it would put users at significant risk if weak security standards are used.
"Although larger operators are compliant, we believe the OSA has created an ecosystem where the vast majority of sites with age-inappropriate content are left unchecked," Kekesi said. Given the scale of compliance, as there are around 240,000 adult websites, Aylo has advocated for device-based age verification to lift some weight off its shoulders.
The company said that it"s "too big a challenge for any regulator to execute" and "unregulated sites quickly fill any gaps left by responsible operators." It noted that Apple has taken some steps in this direction by adding web content filters for kids in iOS 26.1 and introducing more granular age ratings on the App Store.
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