Porn age checks ‘won’t stop’ teens from seeking content
Grace Crivellaro |
Laws forcing pornography websites to introduce age verification measures are damaging for healthy conversations between parents and teens, an expert says.
A second phase of the eSafety Commission’s Online Safety Codes, which came into effect on Monday, mandates strict age verification on content identified as unsuitable for Australian users aged under 18.
The rollout of the laws prompted Aylo – a Canadian company operating free explicit video websites including Pornhub, RedTube and YouPorn – to restrict access for Australian users.
But the laws were unlikely to stop teenagers from seeking out sexual material online, healthy sexual development and media expert Alan McKee said.
He called the codes damaging, as they created a further barrier for children to speak to trusted adults about content that was now restricted.
“We’re never going to stop adolescents searching for information about sex, no matter how hard we make it,” Professor McKee told AAP.
“What you can do is make sure that they have the intelligence and critical thinking to engage properly with it.
“In saying that, you don’t want pornography to be where young people learn about sex. It’s designed as entertainment.
“Learning how to have sex from pornography is like learning how to drive by watching Fast and the Furious.”
He said the most common way children were exposed to unwanted sexual material was among peers, often linked to bullying.
“It’s not through social media, it’s not through searching online – it’s peer-group material being shared to try and upset people,” Prof McKee said.
“It’s someone sharing shocking, extreme images. It’s bullying.”
Restricted content under the codes also includes media containing high-impact violence, self-harm material and dangerous content such as suicide and disordered eating.
The codes require websites hosting pornography and age-restricted material to verify ages of users through measures such as facial-age estimation, digital wallets and photo ID.
eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said pornography sites using a button to ask users whether they were over 18 would no longer suffice.
“There needs to be more rigour behind that,” she said.
“We’re letting companies decide how they age verify, as long as it’s robust and fair that doesn’t force people into using digital or government ID and is privacy preserving.”
Prof McKee said the restrictions could drive more traffic to illegal porn sites like in the UK, or increase the use of VPNs to circumvent the age verification process.
“I don’t think you can tick that off and call that a simple ‘mission accomplished’ that’s making things better,” he said of the codes.
The UK introduced age verification restrictions to pornography websites in 2025.
Virtual private networks have surged up the app charts in Australia after pornography sites began blocking users days out from the launch of the restrictions.
VPN apps allow a user’s location to appear as being in another country.
VPN Super Unlimited Proxy climbed from 40th place in the free iPhone apps on March 2, to 7th place on Sunday, according to data from Sensor Tower.
The laws will also cover AI companions or chatbots, requiring AI companies to block inciting suicide or self-harm content to children.
Non-compliance carries penalties of up to $49.5 million per breach.
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AAP