The media regulator estimates that around 14 million people in the UK watch online pornography.
But it is so easily available that campaigners have raised concerns that children are watching it at an early age, with research by the Children’s Commissioner finding that one in 10 children He said he was watching it by age 9.
“As age checks begin to roll out in the coming months, adults will start to notice differences in the way they access certain online services,” Dame Melanie said.
The rules also require services that publish their own pornographic content (including generative AI tools) to immediately begin implementing age checks.
Age verification platform Yoti said such technology is “essential” to creating a safe space online.
“It’s important to implement age guarantees on pornographic sites of all sizes, creating a level playing field and providing age-appropriate access for adults,” said Julie Dawson, head of regulation and policy.
But Aylo, the parent company of website Pornhub, told the BBC that this type of age verification is “ineffective, haphazard and dangerous”.
The company claimed that porn use has changed significantly in the US state of Louisiana since similar age verification regulations were enacted, with website traffic dropping by 80% in the state.
“These people haven’t stopped looking for porn; they’ve just moved to the dark corners of the internet, where users aren’t asked to verify their age.”
“In reality, the law has only made the Internet more dangerous for adults and children.”
