Pornhub suffers 50% drop in UK traffic after age restrictions added

Online traffic for pornography has plummeted in the UK after new age-verification laws were put into place over the summer.

Since July 25, porn users in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland must prove they are 18 or over by uploading identity documents, credit card information or a selfie that uses facial-recognition technology to guess their age.

Pornhub, the most visited adult website in the world, suffered a staggering 50 percent plummet — or more than 1 million visitors, according to the Australian Broadcasting Company.

Hannah Swirsky, the head of policy and public affairs at the Internet Watch Foundation, a nonprofit that works to eradicate child sexual exploitation online, told the outlet that the regulations have been effective.

“The regulator has been very clear that self-declaration, so just ticking a box to say that you’re over 18, is not a highly effective form of age assurance,” she said.

“Children were often raising the issue of involuntarily seeing harmful content — such as pornography — online and this also makes it a lot harder if you are trying to seek this material out.”

Australia is planning to unveil the same restrictions, as Australian eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant told the outlet that approximately 30 percent of the country’s kids find pornography online by the time they turn 13.

By 2027, Australia hopes to have the restrictions apply to search engine services as well, which means users will need to verify their age when signing into web browsers like Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge, the step before they can get to adult sites.

“These changes are not a big hindrance for adults if they do want to access certain content, in the same way that you walk into a pub or a bar, you may be required to show ID,” Swirsky told the outlet.