Australian adults can once again access Pornhub, the world’s most popular porn site, after its parent company, Aylo, introduced age-checking features on Apple devices. This change comes in response to legal requirements that previously led to the site blocking Australian users.
Background
In March, Aylo blocked access to Australian users after new online safety codes mandated that adult websites verify users as being 18 or older or face potential fines of $49.5 million. At that time, Aylo expressed concerns that the age-checking requirements would not effectively protect minors and could pose data privacy risks for users required to provide personal information.
Following the access ban, three virtual private network (VPN) apps that allow users to appear as if they are outside Australia surged in popularity, quickly climbing the app download charts.
New Developments
On Wednesday, Aylo’s vice-president for brand and community, Alex Kekesi, announced that Pornhub would return to Australia now that Apple has implemented age-checking features at the device level in iOS. Apple rolled out these new age checks in Australia last month, following a similar rollout in the UK earlier this year.
Under the new requirements, users can confirm their age through Apple by:
- Using a credit card
- Scanning their passport, driver’s license, or government ID
- For existing Apple account holders, verifying with the credit card on file or the duration of account ownership
Content filtering and restrictions on downloading apps identified as suitable for users aged 18 or older will remain in place until a user is verified as over 18.
