NICOSIA, Cyprus—Aylo, owner of a large portfolio of adult online entertainment properties including Pornhub, YouPorn and Redtube, today introduced age assurance methods in the United Kingdom that U.K. digital regulator Ofcom deems capable of being highly effective.
These methods include email-based age estimation, credit card age checks, mobile network operator age checks and open banking. They roll out on Aylo's sites ahead of tomorrow's deadline for all websites that host pornography to comply with rules under the U.K. Online Safety Act requiring "robust" and "highly effective" age assurance tech to prevent anyone under the age of 18 from accessing such sites, as enforced by Ofcom.
Full details can be found here.
Aylo vice president of brand and community Alex Kekesi issued the following statement about the implementation of these new methods:
For years, Aylo has publicly called for effective and enforceable age assurance solutions that protect minors online, while ensuring the safety and privacy of all users. The United Kingdom is the first country to present these same priorities demonstrably.
Ofcom has consulted with industry stakeholders and has presented a variety of flexible methods of age assurance that are less intrusive than we have seen in other jurisdictions, giving us the confidence to operate within their framework. Our conversations with Ofcom have been constructive and solution-focused. With hundreds of thousands of platforms (including adult sites and social media) in scope, Ofcom recognizes the scale of the challenge ahead and is approaching it with thorough consideration. Ofcom’s model is the most robust in terms of actual and meaningful protection we’ve seen to date.
When governments and regulators engage with industry in good faith, the outcome is not just better compliance, it’s smarter, more effective solutions. We have and will continue to share data and engage with governments and regulators to find technological solutions that ensure minors do not access age-inappropriate content online. Effective online safety regulation depends not only on strong policy frameworks but also on realistic and scalable enforcement strategies. With hundreds of thousands of adult websites subject to regulation in addition to social media platforms, it’s essential that enforcement efforts reflect the complexity and scope of the digital landscape. We believe in Ofcom’s intent and ability to enforce compliance with the Online Safety Act. Without real enforcement, age assurance laws are meaningless, driving traffic to non-compliant sites and exposing users to dangerous content.
Keeping minors off adult sites is a shared responsibility that requires a global solution. It requires cooperation between government, tech platforms, and adults. We want to be part of the solution and are hopeful that the UK model stands to set a strong precedent to that end. We have long worked with governments around the world to better protect kids online. Age assurance legislation in other jurisdictions is failing for a number of reasons, including its inconsistent and ineffective enforcement at scale, leaving hundreds of thousands of platforms with age-inappropriate content accessible, most of which do not have content moderation or uploader verification measures. We know that when people choose not to age verify, they do not stop looking for adult content; they migrate to those irresponsible platforms.
We continue to believe that to make the internet safer for everyone, every phone, tablet, or computer should start as a kid-safe device. Only verified adults should unlock access to things like dating apps, gambling, or adult content. This is the core premise of device-based age verification, which we believe is the safest and most effective option for protecting children and maintaining user privacy online.
