Pornhub is urging tech giants to enact device-based age verification

This week, the parent company of Pornhub, Aylo, reached out to major tech firms including Apple, Google, and Microsoft, urging them to implement device-based age verification in their app stores and operating systems. Anthony Penhale, Aylo's chief legal officer, emphasized the importance of protecting minors online, citing the company's own experiences with current age assurance laws. In a formal letter, Penhale criticized existing site-based age verification methods, describing them as fundamentally flawed and ineffective in their primary goal of preventing minors from accessing inappropriate content. He advocated for a shift towards device-based authentication, which would allow age verification to occur directly through smartphones or tablets. This data could then be securely shared with adult websites via application programming interfaces (APIs). The call for change comes in response to increasing age verification laws in both the US and UK, which mandate that users verify their ages, often requiring ID uploads or personal information. Currently, 25 states in the US have enacted some form of ID verification legislation, each with distinct requirements. As a result of these laws, Pornhub has seen a significant decline in traffic, particularly after complying with Louisiana's regulations, where the platform experienced an 80% drop in visitors. The impact has been similarly felt in the UK, where the implementation of the Online Safety Act has led to a nearly 80% reduction in viewership on the site.