Latest news with #Pornhub
Daily Mail
7 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Britain's porn crackdown begins TOMORROW: Users will have to prove they're over-18 to access hundreds of adult sites like Pornhub
There's just one day to go before online pornography becomes a lot harder to watch in the UK. From tomorrow (July 25), porn sites available in the UK will have to perform stringent checks to ensure visitors are aged 18 or over. In an attempt to stop children accessing porn, adults will have to submit ID or even have their face scanned, depending on what site they access. Several porn providers have confirmed to online regular Ofcom that they will introduce these checks by tomorrow's deadline. They include Pornhub, BoyfriendTV, Cam4, FrolicMe, inxxx, Jerkmate, LiveHDCams, MyDirtyHobby, RedTube, Streamate, Stripchat, Tube8 and YouPorn. Other online platforms have also confirmed they will deploy age assurance - including Bluesky, Discord, Grindr, Reddit, and X. If any sites fail to do so, 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 will the age checks work? Ofcom has already 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).
Euractiv
11 hours ago
- Politics
- Euractiv
How EU countries are clamping down on kids' access to social media
Recent guidelines from Brussels on protecting minors online have given the green light to EU countries to adopt stricter rules that restrict – or even ban – kids from accessing social media. We dive into the state of play across several countries leading the charge for tougher online child safeguarding. Earlier this month, the EU's executive presented new guidelines under the Digital Services Act (DSA), setting out its expectations for how platforms should protect children using their online services. At the same time, the Commission has allowed member states to adopt a so-called "digital majority", enabling them to go further by banning social media access for kids under a certain age, or by requiring parental consent. Greece, Spain, and France jointly signed a declaration in June – later joined by Cyprus, Denmark, Slovenia – that urged the Commission to introduce an EU-wide digital majority and implement stronger age verification rules on platforms. While the Commission rejected that idea, arguing that cultural differences make an EU standard inappropriate, it has allowed countries to set their own age thresholds for teens to access social media. It has also developed a prototype age verification tool that member countries can use to customise their own national age-check apps to support various approaches to safeguarding kids online. Below, we've rounded up the state of play across several EU countries that are adjusting their national laws to curb kids' access to social media or taking other steps aimed at improving child safety online. France France has been the loudest proponent for banning social media access for minors, leading the EU-wide push to give member states the right to do so. President Emmanuel Macron has taken a personal interest in the issue. Paris is working on implementing a ban as soon as the autumn session starts, according to a French government spokesperson, although the exact timeline will depend on national legislators. Separately, France has already implemented strict age verification rules for pornographic websites, leading to platforms such as Pornhub blocking access to French users. France is one of five countries participating in the pilot phase of the Commission's prototype app. The government spokesperson told Euractiv that authorities are still deciding whether to use the 'zero-knowledge proof' open-source technology developed by Google – which is integrated into the Commission's prototype – or opt for a sovereign alternative. Ireland Starting this week, major video-sharing platforms established in Ireland – including Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, TikTok, Tumblr, Udemy, X and YouTube – are required under the country's Online Safety Code to implement age checks and/or parental controls. Under Irish law, platforms hosting adult material such as pornography or graphic violence must provide 'effective' age assurance mechanisms and/or parental controls to ensure minors are not exposed to inappropriate content. However, the law does not mandate a specific method of age verification. This mirrors the UK's approach for age checks on pornographic platforms, , where companies may choose their verification method but are guided by a regulatory code outlining appropriate standards – explicitly stating that self-declaration is not valid. Spain Spain's draft bill on protecting minors online aims to restrict social media access for children under 16. The proposed legislation would set 16 as the minimum age for creating a social media account. For age verification, a government spokesperson said Spain has developed a digital wallet app – cartera digital beta – which aligns with the Commission's prototype. By participating in the pilot, Spain also hopes to assess the app's interoperability with national systems. Greece Greece has not proposed or supported a blanket social media ban for minors, according to a government spokesperson. However, the country is moving forward with a hybrid approach combining age verification and parental controls, following its earlier support for a Europe-wide digital majority age. Greece has developed and launched its own age-check app, Kids Wallet . The downloadable app uses parents' digital IDs to approve or deny their child's request to access social media. The process involves parents validating the identity linked to the child's profile on the digital ID app. Third-party applications may also retrieve the child's age via API with parental consent, the spokesperson said. Greece's softer stance on teen social media access is backed by social media giant Meta, which is running its own EU-wide campaign on age verification. The Greek spokesperson told us that Meta supports its approach, which requires parental consent for teens to use social media platforms. (nl, aw)
LeMonde
5 days ago
- Business
- LeMonde
Age verification becomes mandatory on porn sites in the UK, and gradually in France
The internet appears to be entering the "age verification era." This was the prediction made in June by France's media and digital communications regulator (Arcom) in its contribution to European guidelines on the protection of minors. It is clear that new fronts have opened up worldwide for the pornographic industry, which has been on the frontlines for several years. The United Kingdom made headlines last month by announcing that, starting July 25, several major porn sites would deploy age verification tools in the UK, retiring the familiar and purely declarative button, "I am over 18." Among these are several websites – Pornhub, RedTube, YouPorn, Tube8 and MyDirtyHobby – run by Aylo, a leading Canadian and Cypriot group in the industry. The list also includes "camshow" platforms, such as ICF Group (Streamate, LiveHDCams), Cam4 and Cypriot giant Stripchat. Adult video sites are not the only ones complying with the measures set out in the Online Safety Act, passed in 2023. In recent weeks, a range of publishers have announced plans to deploy age verification tools in the UK, starting with Reddit, the American social media platform, which will hide its pornographic content behind a filter designed to keep minors out. The same goes for the gay dating app Grindr and even the social network Bluesky.
New York Post
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Pornhub searches for ‘office sex,' ‘cheating' surge after Coldplay concert kiss-cam scandal
Coldplay. Hot videos. Pornhub searches about infidelity are surging in the wake of the Coldplay concert cheating scandal. Astronomer CEO Andy Byron, 50, was busted getting cozy with his company's Chief People Officer, Kristin Cabot, 52, on 'kiss cam' at the British band's Massachusetts gig earlier this week. Vision of the co-workers — who are both married to other people — quickly went viral, with many making memes, humorous tweets and TikTok clips about the situation. Others, however, were feeling far more frisky, taking to the internet to search for racy adult videos related to illicit trysts between colleagues. Astronomer CEO Andy Byron, 50, was busted getting cozy with his company's Chief People Officer, Kristin Cabot, 52, on 'kiss cam' at the British band's Massachusetts gig earlier this week. Grace Springer via Storyful According to Pornhub, searches for 'office affair' shot up 18%, while interest in 'office sex' spiked 21% in the 24 hours after the news broke. Meanwhile, searches with the words 'caught cheating' rose 22%, while 'cheating husband' soared 29%. The biggest spike came with the words 'cheating couple,' which surged a staggering 31%, with randy users seemingly inspired by the amorous Astronomer workers. According to Pornhub, searches for 'office affair' shot up 18%, while interest in 'office sex' spiked 21% in the 24 hours after the news broke. Pornhub On Friday, new video emerged of Byron and Cabot locking lips and embracing at the Coldplay concert on Wednesday evening. In the vision, obtained by TMZ, the pair are also seen laughing and swaying arm-in-arm to Coldplay's smash track 'Yellow' as the massive crowd lit up Gillette Stadium with their cellphones. The pair have since been placed on leave after incident, sources told Axios. 'Astronomers are committed to the values and culture that have guided us since our founding,' the company said in a statement 'Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability. The Board of Directors has initiated a formal investigation into this matter and we will have additional details to share very shortly.' Neither Byron nor Cabot has spoken out yet about the salacious scandal.
Gizmodo
6 days ago
- Business
- Gizmodo
Pornhub Might Return to Some States After SCOTUS Loss: Report
Porn sites were dealt a decisive blow last month when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of a Texas law that requires websites with pornographic material to verify all users are 18 or older. Pornhub, the world's most popular porn platform, has been blocking its material from Texas in protest. But it sounds like Pornhub's parent company might be considering a move to conduct age verifications after all, according to a new report from Bloomberg Law. The suggestion that Pornhub could just do age verification came on Thursday during a federal court hearing over a dispute on whether Pornhub's parent company Aylo Global should pay fines over initially not conducting age checks in 2023. A lawyer for the company, Scott Cole of Reichman Jorgensen Lehman & Feldberg LLP, told the judge, 'Everyone's reevaluating the new landscape after the Supreme Court opinion.' Pornhub started blocking all users from Texas in March 2024 rather than face further fines for non-compliance, though visitors can still use a VPN to get around the block. Anyone trying to visit Pornhub right now is met with a long message that starts with, 'As you may know, your elected officials in Texas are requiring us to verify your age before allowing you access to our website.' The porn sites, which formed a group called the Free Speech Coalition, argued against age verification laws on First Amendment grounds and said the burden to verify ages opened up users to all kinds of hacking and unnecessary exposure for constitutionally protected speech. Requiring a credit card or driver's license for age verification does open up a new avenue for hackers to unmask folks for behavior they may be embarrassed about. The case, Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton (Ken Paxton is the Attorney General of Texas), was decided 6-3 along ideological lines. 'History, tradition, and precedent recognize that States have two distinct powers to address obscenity: They may proscribe outright speech that is obscene to the public at large, and they may prevent children from accessing speech that is obscene to children,' conservative Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas wrote in his opinion. 'In addition to their general interest in protecting the public at large, States have a specific interest in protecting children from sexually explicit speech,' Thomas continued. But the liberals on the court disagreed with the reasoning behind a requirement for age verification, noting that, historically, any protections for children need to be done in the least restrictive way in order to allow adults to access material they're entitled to see. The liberal justice who wrote the dissent, Elena Kagan, argued that 'speech that is obscene for minors is often not so for adults.' She asked, 'Is the law the least restrictive means of achieving a compelling state interest?' while insisting that the conservative opinion was 'unfaithful to the law.' At least 19 states currently have laws on the books requiring user age verification for porn sites, and if Pornhub decides to just implement a way to do that, it seems likely that other states will follow. Perhaps even Democratic-leaning states will pass laws, since almost all of the states that currently have age verification requirements are controlled by Republicans. Pornhub didn't immediately respond to questions emailed Friday morning. Gizmodo will update this post if we hear back.
