The UK and AU are introducing new age verification systems to prevent children from accessing porn. Even though these laws protect children, the new rules
put your privacy at risk.
Here’s everything you need to know about the new UK and AU porn laws and how to bypass them.
Quick Guide: How to Bypass the UK and AU Porn Laws
- The UK’s new porn restrictions mean adults will have to submit ID to prove their age. Australia is considering new facial scanning technology to prove age.
- These laws are intended to stop children from viewing porn, but they can be a privacy risk for adults using the sites.
- You can use a VPN to bypass restrictions on porn in many countries, including identity verification methods like ID or facial recognition.
Understanding the UK and AU Porn Blocks
Child-focused charities are worried about the number of young teenagers who have – largely accidentally – accessed pornographic content. A BBC article estimates that up to
65% of children aged 11 – 16 have come across porn.
To fight the number of children accessing porn, the UK introduced the Digital Economy Act 2017. This legislation defines pornography and
outlines an age verification system. At the time of writing, the much-publicized April 1st deadline has passed, and these restrictions had not yet come into effect.
Australia for its part
has not yet placed a ban on underage viewers watching pornography, but intends to implement such laws. The AU is also
looking into facial scanning technology that would help prevent younger viewers from accessing adult content. The AU was still in discussions in late October 2019, and no concrete plans are set.
Age Verification
The idea? If you try to access a commercial porn site, you’ll be redirected to a non-pornographic landing page. You’ll be asked to
enter personally identifiable information like your name, phone number, and address.
Today, many sites use a simple “I am aged 18 or over” checkbox:
Under the new laws, this won’t do. You’ll be asked for
verifiable ID information: passport, credit cards, facial recognition via scan, or other legal forms of ID. This will be compared to a central database to confirm your identity.
The
government contracted out the development of age ID software to various companies, including MindGeek, which created AgeID. MindGeek calls itself an “information technology” firm, working to “develop industry-leading solutions” for delivering content.
The issue? Nowhere does the company mention that
MindGeek owns several high-profile porn sites, including PornHub, YouPorn, and RedTube.
The company collecting your personal information is the company that benefits from it most. By confirming your personal information, sites can track you and your viewing habits.
Privacy Issues
A government-ordered database of info collected from porn sites? Sounds like a great idea.
If you don’t want a porn site to have your passport information, chances are
you don’t want the government to access your porn habits, either.
After all, this database could include all your personally identifiable information, as well as the porn site you’re accessing and
even what you’re watching. There’s no limit to how the government (or hackers targeting the government) could use this information.
Your
information could be exposed or sold to third-party advertisers. It can be used to target both private individuals and public figures, leading to bribery and coercion.
The Ashley Madison data breach in 2015 shows the impact of
making peoples’ private lives public knowledge. Ashley Madison is a dating site which facilitates extramarital affairs.
This had multiple ramifications. When 25 GB of user information was leaked,
extortionists combed the data for people to bribe, scamming users out of undisclosed sums of money. 1,200 Saudi Arabian email addresses were leaked;
adultery is punishable by death in the Kingdom.
Several suicides were reported as a result of the data breach.
Additionally, it’s crazy that a law intended to protect children could end up hurting adults.
Privacy is a right that governments should protect, not destroy.
The laws include a fine or country-wide block for any porn sites found not complying with new regulations. While fines and bans may be incentive for companies to comply,
they don’t protect children.
The UK and AU Porn Blocks Won’t Work
These censorship
laws are specific to commercial porn sites. Internet-savvy kids will easily find the simplest workaround: non-commercial porn sites.
For example, Reddit is neither commercial nor regulated. The subreddit r/porn is filled with
freely accessible images and videos, which will remain completely uncensored and available to children.
Additionally, there are already
plans to launch “porn pass” – a card that you can use to bypass the censorship rules. They will be available to purchase for around £5 from stores.
This means that despite both government’s best intentions,
any teenager with a fake ID or an unscrupulous older relative will have cheap and easy access to porn.
A VPN Will Help You Bypass Restrictions or Access Porn from Other Countries
There’s a much simpler way to
keep watching the porn you love without resorting to Reddit or purchasing a pass. A VPN will allow you to bypass UK content restriction laws, as well as help you bypass AU sites altogether and access porn from other countries.
xHamster, the UK’s third most popular porn site by traffic, asked 25,000 adults how they planned to deal with the new regulations. Around
40% of participants said they would use a VPN to make it look like they’re visiting porn sites from other countries.
When you connect to a VPN, your traffic is sent through a server network, disguising your real IP address. If you connect to a server in a different country with less restrictive laws, the site you visit thinks you’re coming from your “host” country.
This lets you bypass content blocks, including the UK’s age ID blocks on porn sites. Even though the AU is considering facial recognition, you’d simply need to log in using a VPN and access porn from other countries using the methods mentioned above.
As well as changing your IP address,
VPNs also encrypt your data. This ensures that all your information is untrackable and unhackable, protecting your search and viewing history.
FAQs
? Why are porn sites blocked in some countries but restricted in others?
Most countries where female rights are limited, moral laws exist, or where government restricts viewers to specific programming, block porn sites. This is because pornography is considered a liberal view and thereby potentially harmful. Porn restrictions on the other hand usually include placing limitations on the type of pornography that is legal to view (adult, full sex, sexual acts, displayed genitalia, etc.).
? What is considered porn worldwide?
It depends on where you live, there’s no one answer. This article helps you bypass UK porn laws, and describes why the blocks won’t work. In the US porn is widely considered to be written or visual content that shows sexual or lewd acts that are meant to sexually arouse a person. While in Japan, it’s considered any genitalia on full display.
Each country has it’s own laws that govern what constitutes pornography, and adjusts internet regulations accordingly.
? Why is Japanese porn censored?
Since pornography is highly restricted in Japan, censoring genitalia or using other images to depict genitalia is common. Even censored videos are not called pornography, they use the term Adult Video (AV). The country is also known for developing Hentai, an Anime version of AV. These types of censorship and creativity allow the makers of AV and Hentai to get around the laws governing pornography.
The Bottom Line
Using a VPN means
no-one will know who you are when you watch porn. This means you’re safe from data-collecting porn sites and intrusive governments. You’ll have unlimited access to porn sites, and be able to watch knowing you’re fully protected.
Your data will be protected with best-in-class encryption, meaning
your private activities remain truly private. You can also establish your own smart connection rules for customized protection.
