How Apple's device-level checks unlock the site

Alex Kekesi, Aylo's vice-president for brand and community, said on Wednesday that Pornhub would return to Australia because Apple had implemented age-checking features at the device level in iOS. Access is being restored for users who have confirmed their age through Apple's age-verification process. Apple launched its new age checks in Australia last month, after rolling them out in the UK earlier this year. The move reverses the block the site imposed in response to legal requirements.

Inside Apple's age confirmation process

People can confirm their age with Apple by using a credit card, or by scanning a passport, driver's licence or government ID. For existing account holders, Apple can verify age from the credit card already on file, or by looking at how long the person has held the account.

Two restrictions stay in place until a user is identified as being over 18:

• •Content filtering
• •Blocks on downloading apps identified as 18 or older

Why Aylo blocked Australian users in March

The trigger was a set of online safety codes requiring adult websites to verify users as being 18 or older or face potential fines of $49.5m. Aylo, the parent company of Pornhub - described as the most popular porn site on the internet - cut off Australian users in March. The company and others objected at the time:

• •Aylo said the requirements would not protect minors and would create data privacy risks for users required to provide their personal information.
• •The office of the eSafety commissioner said the block was ultimately a business decision for the company.
• •The sex worker advocacy group Scarlet Alliance warned the requirement risked a chilling effect on platforms willing to host online advertising for sex workers' services and content.
• •Scarlet Alliance also warned the rules could lead to over-filtering of content, including sexual health information, due to concern about being in breach.

Aylo praises Apple and presses for a wider rollout

Kekesi said Apple's approach sets a benchmark because child safety features turn on automatically for users who have not verified they are adults, making every phone or tablet kid-safe as a starting point. He described the Australian device-level age-verification update as one of the strongest and hardest-to-circumvent protections currently available for helping prevent minors from accessing age-inappropriate content. Of the extended requirements, Kekesi said:

He urged Apple to roll the feature out globally and called on Microsoft and Google to follow suit. Kekesi said Aylo wants to work with government, civil society and tech partners toward a kid-safe-by-default solution.

VPN spike fades while the UK watchdog investigates

When access was cut in March, three virtual private network apps that let users appear to be outside Australia surged up the app download charts. That spike looks short-lived: the VPN apps that had rapidly entered the Top 25 downloads chart, according to Sensor Tower in March, have since dropped out of the rankings.

The rollout of age checks on Pornhub in the UK has not been smooth: the media regulator Ofcom is investigating whether minors could still access the site. Last month the regulator said: "We are concerned that Aylo may not have conducted sufficient due diligence and testing before implementing its new age assurance process".

• •Ofcom is also concerned that Aylo's process may not be highly effective at preventing children from seeing pornography.
• •Aylo said it would cooperate fully with the investigation.

Australian users who confirm their age through Apple's verification process regain access to Pornhub.