The Porn ID Laws: What's Actually Happening in the UK and Australia

Both the UK and Australia now require websites hosting adult content to verify that visitors are over 18. Not with a checkbox — with actual ID. Here's what the laws say, what's already been blocked, and what the privacy implications are.

The UK: Online Safety Act Age Verification

Under the Online Safety Act, all websites and apps that host pornographic content must implement "highly effective age checks" by July 25, 2025. This doesn't just mean dedicated adult sites — it includes social media, dating apps, search engines, and gaming platforms that host adult material.

What Counts as "Age Verification"?

Ofcom has published guidance on acceptable methods. A simple "I am over 18" button is no longer sufficient. Accepted approaches include:

• Photo ID matching (passport or driving licence)
• Facial age estimation (AI scans your face to guess your age)
• Credit card checks
• Open banking verification
• Mobile network operator age checks
• Digital identity services and wallets

What Happens if Sites Don't Comply?

• Fines up to £18 million or 10% of global revenue (whichever is greater)
• Ofcom can seek court orders to block non-compliant sites at the ISP level
• Senior managers face up to 2 years in prison for repeated failures

Australia: eSafety Age-Restricted Material Codes

Australia's approach is similar but even stricter. Under the eSafety Commissioner's new codes, age verification requirements came into full effect on March 9, 2026.

What's Different in Australia?

• Fines up to $49.5 million per breach
• Covers not just porn sites but also AI chatbots, app stores (for R-rated apps), and search engines
• Also targets "lawful but awful" content: extreme violence, self-harm material, eating disorder content
• Social media minimum age raised to 16 (effective December 2025)

Sites Already Blocking Australia

Rather than comply, several major adult platforms have chosen to block Australian users entirely:

• Pornhub — now displays a geo-block message for Australian IP addresses
• RedTube and YouPorn — same parent company (Aylo), same block
• Multiple smaller adult platforms have followed suit

The result? VPN usage in Australia surged immediately after the codes took effect.

The Privacy Problem Nobody Talks About

Here's the part that doesn't make it into government press releases: age verification creates a database linking your real identity to the adult content you view.

• Facial age estimation means sending a photo of your face to a third-party verification company
• Photo ID matching means transmitting passport or licence data to unknown providers
• These verification databases become high-value targets for hackers — imagine a data breach containing millions of people's identities linked to their browsing habits
• Several age verification providers have already been found to have questionable privacy practices

Australia's eSafety Commissioner has acknowledged these concerns but maintains that the privacy risks are outweighed by child safety benefits. Privacy advocates disagree strongly.

The Comparison

	UK	Australia
Effective Date	July 25, 2025	March 9, 2026
Regulator	Ofcom	eSafety Commissioner
Max Fine	£18M or 10% revenue	$49.5M per breach
Scope	Porn sites, social media, dating apps, games	Porn sites, AI chatbots, app stores, search engines
Click-to-Confirm	❌ No longer sufficient	❌ No longer sufficient
Sites Already Blocked	Pending enforcement	Pornhub, RedTube, YouPorn
Criminal Liability	✅ 2 years prison	❌ Civil penalties only

What Can You Do?

Whether you agree with the goals or not, these laws affect how millions of people access the internet. Here's how to get involved:

• Understand the privacy risks. If you choose to verify, be aware that you're creating a link between your identity and your browsing. Check what data the verification provider retains.
• Support privacy advocacy. In the UK, Open Rights Group is actively challenging the age verification provisions. In Australia, Digital Rights Watch is pushing back on the eSafety codes.
• Contact your representative. UK: members.parliament.uk. Australia: aph.gov.au.

In the Meantime

FDat! uses Smart Routing to avoid geo-restrictions without tunnelling all your traffic through a VPN. Only affected sites are redirected while everything else stays fast and direct. No ID, no face scans, no databases linking your identity to your browsing.