Sudden spike in searches for VPNs as porn users look to get around new ID checks

Daily Mail​

2 days ago

Britain's new porn laws sparked a huge surge in VPN use, suggesting porn users are rushing to dodge the strict new age checks.
Under rules that came into force on Friday, UK users must prove they are over 18 to access pornographic websites, with some platforms demanding ID uploads or even facial scans.
Major sites including Pornhub, YouPorn, RedTube, Cam4, and others have told regulator Ofcom they've rolled out these checks.
Social media and messaging platforms such as Reddit, Discord, Bluesky, Grindr, and X have also introduced age verification measures.
But the clampdown appears to have backfired as online searches for VPNs, which can disguise a user's location, spiked by more than 700 per cent on Friday morning, suggesting thousands are already looking for ways around the restrictions.
VPNs help users appear as though they're browsing from another country, allowing them to access sites without triggering the local ID checks.
Experts had previously warned that the technology could be used by users trying to bypass the system.
Marcus Johnstone, a criminal defence solicitor, told The Independent that such measures won't prevent access to fringe forums or the dark web, where much online exploitation occurs.
He said: 'It will also do nothing to restrict access to [fringe] forums, where much online exploitation takes place, or to the dark web, which remains easily available to those with the motivation to look.'
Under the new rules any sites fail to do the checks, Ofcom can impose fines and in very serious cases apply for a court order to prevent the site or app from being available.
'We will be actively checking compliance from 25 July and, should it be necessary, we expect to launch any investigations into individual services next week,' Ofcom said.
Why is the porn crackdown happening?
According to Oliver Griffiths, Ofcom's group director of online safety, making life safer online 'is one of the defining challenges of our era'.
'Society has long protected youngsters from products that aren't suitable for them, from alcohol to smoking or gambling,' he said.
'But for too long children have been only a click away from harmful pornography online.
'Now, change is happening. These age checks will bring pornography into line with how we treat adult services in the real world, without compromising access and privacy for over-18s.'
How do the age checks work?
Ofcom has listed seven methods that porn providers could use.
Ultimately, which one they opt for is their decision, not Ofcom's, but their chosen method must be 'highly effective' at correctly determining if a user is under 18.
Ofcom's seven suggested strategies are photo-ID matching, facial age estimation, mobile-network operator (MNO) age checks, credit card checks, email-based age estimation, digital identity services and open banking.
Open banking works by accessing the information a bank has on record regarding a user's age, while photo-ID matching involves uploading a verified photo-ID document, like a PDF of a passport of driving licence.
Facial age estimate works by analysing the features of a user's face from a photo to work their age, while MNO age checks involve mobile-network operators applying age-restriction filters themselves.
Because you must be 18 to get a credit card in the UK, credit card checks are also listed as 'highly effective', as are email-based age estimations, which estimate your age based on other services where you've provided your email address.
'The process can be as simple as submitting an email address and will return an accurate result in seconds,' explained Lina Ghazal, head of regulatory and public affairs at safety tech firm Verifymy.
What happens if porn sites don't comply?
Ofcom says that many porn sites have already put their age checks in place.
It stresses that the law applies to all sites and apps that allow pornography – whether they are dedicated adult sites or social media, search or gaming services.
Fines for non-comply could be up to £18 million or 10 per cent of the platform's qualifying worldwide revenue, whichever is greater.
The Online Safety Act
The crackdown is part of the Online Safety Act 2023 – a set of laws that protects children and adults online.
Mrs Ghazal said it is a 'great step forward for child safety', adding: 'It means some of the world's biggest sites will have highly effective age assurance in place that protects children and also preserves the privacy of users.'
The idea of implementing age checks on pornography websites, and fining those sites that don't comply, has existed for several years now.
Back in 2016, the UK government launched a public consultation over plans to implement age checks on pornography sites.
It was then included in the Digital Economy Act 2017 – but the provision was delayed and eventually abandoned in October 2019.
Government said at the time age checks would be delivered through its 'proposed online harms regulatory regime' – in other words, the Online Safety Bill.
One criticism of age-checking technology for porn is regarding concerns about handing sensitive identification information – namely age or date of birth – to third parties.
'Everyone realised right from the start – 2016 – that users were not going to want to share their name, let alone a copy of their passport or driving licence, with a porn site,' said Iain Corby, director of Age Verification Providers Association.
New research from Ofcom reveals the extent to which children are accessing porn online, and underlines the need for new measures to protect them.
It found that eight per cent of children aged 8-14 in the UK visited an online porn site or app in a month – including around 3 per cent of 8–9-year-olds – the youngest children in the study.
Ofcom's research tracked the use of websites and apps by 8–14-year-olds across smartphones, tablets and computers over a month.
Boys aged 13-14 (19 per cent) were mostly likely to visit a porn service, significantly more than girls the same age (11 per cent).