Pornographic material on all websites must introduce “robust age checks” by July 2025.  

This will mean all websites with pornographic material must use techniques like demanding photo ID.  

This is following new guidance issued by Ofcom, the regulator for broadcasting and online safety in the UK. 

Under the Online Safety Act (OSA,) Ofcom have issued industry guidance detailing the new standard for accessing content. 

Melanie Dawes, the chief executive of Ofcom said, “for too long, many online services which allow porn and other harmful material have ignored the fact that children are accessing their services,” and added “today, this starts to change.” 

Research from Dame Rachel de Souza, the Children’s Commissioner for England, suggests that the average age young people first encounter explicit material is 13, with one in ten children exposed as young as 9. 

According to Bernardo’s, this poses a serious risk to their mental health, and understanding of consent and healthy relationships. 

This includes violent pornography, including coercive, degrading, or pain-inducing actions, with 79% encountering such content before the age of 18. 

There are specific concerns on normalising these abusive behaviours. 

De Souza has witnessed this impact during her career as school-leader, and stated she “will never forget the girl who told me about her first kiss with her boyfriend, aged 12, who strangled her. He had seen it in pornography and thought it normal.” 

The report found X, known as Twitter at the time, the most likely site for those under 18 to encounter pornography, with 41% of young people reporting having seen it whilst using the platform. 

Since Elon Musk acquired Twitter in 2022, the site officially permits sharing explicit material provided it “adheres to specific guidelines” 

These guidelines require users to place a content warning prior to viewing, with those under 18 or without a birthdate in their profile unable to view these posts. 

However, on platforms like X, Dawes criticised the current checks as “minimal and easy to avoid.” 

Under OSA, age assurance methods must be “highly effective” and the guidance specifically states that self-declaration is no longer acceptable. 

Instead, sites may use technologies such as photo ID matching, credit card checks, or email-based age estimation.  

These age checks must be introduced to services hosting their own pornography immediately. Other user-to-user services that allow pornography must meet these requirements by July of this year – This includes social media platforms.  

This could impact user engagement on platforms sharing graphic content. 

Aylo, the parent company of website Pornhub, claimed that in the US state Louisiana, their website traffic dropped 80%.  

This was following similar age verification controls coming into force in the state. 

“These people did not stop looking for porn, they just migrated to darker corners of the internet that don’t ask users to verify age,” they added. 

Ofcom states they will be monitoring response from the industry closely, and companies that fail to meet their new requirements can expect to face enforcement action.  

This can include a penalty of up to 10% of qualifying worldwide revenue or £18 million. 

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