UK age-check law backfires as non-compliant porn sites gain traffic
What's the story
The United Kingdom's new age verification law, part of the Online Safety Act, is having a major impact on website traffic. The law mandates porn sites to verify user ages through methods like face scans and driver's licenses. It also requires online platforms to shield children from adult content exposure. However, an analysis by The Washington Post has revealed unintended consequences of this legislation.
Traffic impact
Non-compliant sites see traffic surge
The Post examined the top 90 porn sites based on UK visitor data from Similarweb. The study found that 14 of these sites have not implemented age checks and all of them have seen a massive spike in traffic. One site even saw its traffic double year-over-year. This is in stark contrast to compliant platforms, which are struggling with reduced user engagement due to the new law.
Compliance challenges
Compliant sites call for repeal of the law
Many websites that have complied with the law have criticized it, linked to a petition for its repeal, or even provided instructions on how to bypass it. John Scott-Railton from the University of Toronto's Citizen Lab called this situation "a textbook illustration of the law of unintended consequences." He said that the law "suppresses traffic to compliant platforms while driving users to sites without age verification."