UK’s porn crackdown gets real: Age checks, AI Scans, and a lot more

United KIngdom

Starting this Friday, porn in the UK won’t just be about consent — it’ll also be about credentials. Thanks to the Online Safety Act, all adult websites are now legally required to verify users’ ages using official photo IDs, AI face scans, or both. That’s right — watching porn could now mean handing over your passport or taking a selfie for an algorithm to guess your age.

The rules, enforced by Ofcom, are part of a sweeping attempt to protect minors from explicit content. But while the intentions may be noble, the execution is already raising eyebrows. Sites like Pornhub, as well as platforms like Reddit and Bluesky, have begun rolling out age-check systems for UK users. Some use third-party verification services; others do it in-house. Either way, it means a lot more friction — and a lot more data collection — at the digital door.

The Online Safety Act 2023 is a UK law aimed at protecting both children and adults while online. It introduces a host of responsibilities for social media platforms and search engines, demanding they take greater care in safeguarding users on their services. Providers must now put effective systems in place to minimise the risk of illegal activity and swiftly remove any unlawful content that appears.

The Act places particular emphasis on protecting children. Platforms are required to stop minors from accessing harmful or age-inappropriate material and must offer straightforward, accessible reporting tools for both children and parents to flag issues when they happen.

Adults also benefit under the Act. Major platforms are now expected to be more transparent about the types of potentially harmful content they allow and to empower users with more control over what they see online.

Privacy concerns have exploded after the new rules come into play. Who wants their driving licence floating around on an adult website’s servers? VPN use in the UK, as per multiple reports, has surged, as users try to spoof their location and avoid the checks altogether. Some are turning to fake ID generators or even AI-generated avatars to beat the system.

But here’s the catch: under the new law, even promoting VPNs that help people dodge verification is illegal. If sites get caught, the penalties are eye-watering—£18 million or 10% of global revenue, whichever is more. That’s over Rs190 crore, just to put it in perspective.