UK Online Safety Act

Starmer's announcement comes just one week after he gave tech companies three months to prevent children from taking, sending and receiving nude images. Taken together with the Online Safety Act, which requires all online services that could expose children to harmful content to verify people's ages, the UK's rules form some of the tightest global restrictions facing big tech companies. They're all designed to keep children safe, but the platforms have a different perspective. Responding to Starmer's announcement on Monday, some companies pointed out that banning mainstream platforms could pus

Yes, VPNs are legal in Australia. Accessing adult content as an adult is also legal in Australia. The block isn’t a law against watching pornography: it’s the direct consequence of Pornhub refusing to implement the age verification that Australian law now requires. Bypassing the geo-block may technically breach Pornhub’s terms of service, but that is a matter between you and the platform. It is not a criminal matter and is not regulated or enforced under Australian law. For context: when the UK’s Online Safety Act came into force in summer 2025, NordVPN recorded a 1,000% spike in UK subscripti

Australia’s Online Safety Act 2021 took effect on March 9, 2026. From that date, adult websites serving Australian visitors must confirm every user is aged 18 or above before granting full access. The three verification routes on offer were a government-issued photo ID, a biometric facial age scan, or credit card details processed through a third-party age-check vendor. Pornhub’s parent company Aylo reviewed those options and turned its back on all of them: it cut off every Australian IP address instead. Existing accounts can no longer sign in, and new registrations have been shut down entirel

Yes. Since March 9, 2026, Pornhub’s parent company Aylo has blocked all Australian IP addresses rather than comply with Australia’s Online Safety Act age verification requirements. New account registrations are also disabled, with no opt-in verification path available on the site.