Pornhub to introduce 'government approved' age checks in UK

Pornhub and a number of other major adult websites have confirmed they will introduce enhanced age checks for users from next month.

Parent company Aylo says it is bringing in "government approved age assurance methods" but has not yet revealed how it will require users to prove they are over 18.

Regulator Ofcom has previously said simply clicking a button, which is all the adult site currently requires, is not enough.

Ofcom said the changes would "bring pornography into line with how we treat adult services in the real world."

The Online Safety Act requires adult sites to introduce "robust" age checking techniques by this summer.

Approved measures include demanding photo ID or running credit card checks before users can view sexually explicit material.

"Society has long protected youngsters from products that aren't suitable for them, from alcohol to smoking or gambling," said Oliver Griffiths, Ofcom's group director of online safety, in a statement.

"For too long children have been only a click away from harmful pornography online."

Mr Griffiths said assurances from Aylo and several other porn providers, including Stripchat and Streamate, regarding the introduction of new age checks showed "change is happening".

Pornhub is the most visited porn site in the UK and around the world, according to data from Similarweb.

It has been under scrutiny by regulators worldwide over its measures to prevent children accessing adult content.

The European Commission announced an investigation into Pornhub, along with two other adult platforms, at the end of May.

In the UK, Ofcom is probing several adult sites it believes may be failing to abide by its child safety rules.

Aylo's vice president of brand and community Alex Kekesi said Ofcom presented a variety of flexible methods of age assurance that were less intrusive than those it had seen in other jurisdictions.

"Ofcom recognises the scale of the challenge ahead and is approaching it with thorough consideration," he said.

The regulator's model is "the most robust in terms of actual and meaningful protection we've seen to date," he added.

"When governments and regulators engage with industry in good faith, the outcome is not just better compliance, it's smarter, more effective solutions".

Aylo said it would introduce the new methods to check user ages on its sites by 25 July, but so far has not spelt out which technique for verifying users' ages it will use.