Pornhub returns to Australia but users may need to check their device

Adult content site Pornhub has been switched back on in Australia, but only for people 18 and over with an Apple device. Seven months after toning down what could be viewed due to the country’s age verification laws, parent company Aylo said access to its library of X-rated videos will be restored for adult users who have “confirmed their age through Apple’s Australian age-verification process”. “In our view, Apple’s Australian device-level age-verification update offers one of the strongest and hardest-to-circumvent protections currently available for helping prevent minors from accessing age-inappropriate content,” Aylo brand and community vice president Alex Kekesi said. “Moving forward, age-verified iOS users in Australia reaching Pornhub will be served a standard adult user experience.” Australians rank 7th in the world when it comes to Pornhub traffic. The world’s largest pornographic video-sharing platform made its 18+ material inaccessible to Australians in March. It said at the time it was blocking access to fall into line with new age verification laws. “Australia is following a similar approach to the UK, which all our evidence shows does not effectively protect minors, and instead creates harms relating to data privacy and exposure to illegal content on non-compliant platforms,” Aylo said in March. Apple recently began asking users to prove they are over 18 to access certain features on its devices. Confirmation of age can be done with a credit card that belongs to you, a passport, driver’s license, or other government-issued ID. Debit cards and gift cards are not accepted. “If you choose not to confirm your age when prompted, you can continue to use your device – but you need to confirm before you can turn off certain safety settings or download apps that are rated 18+,” Apple said. Kekesi said Apple had “set a benchmark” by making child safety features the default setting on devices where the user has not verified they are 18 or over, “ultimately making every phone or tablet kid-safe as a starting point”. “This method protects minors without requiring adults to surrender unnecessary personal information to multiple apps and websites,” Kekesi said. “It also avoids creating systems that are easily circumvented through tools like VPNs.”