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Original poster

To tell you that from midnight, you'll have to upload ID to watch porn???!!!

268 replies

youreactinglikeafunmum · 24/07/2025 23:41

Not a troll post

Here's the link: https://www.independent.co.uk/tech/uk-porn-age-verification-b2795354.html

I heard about this happening in france and thought 'thank fuck its not happening here'

What will I do on those late nights or mid afternoons before pick up?? Just use my imagination, like a prehistoric cave woman???

😡🙈😡

The UK is launching ‘porn age checks’. This is what will happen

The UK is about to launch some of the strongest checks on pornography in the world.

https://www.independent.co.uk/tech/uk-porn-age-verification-b2795354.html

OP posts:
Sundaymorningcalla · 25/07/2025 20:40

Download Opera VPN, it's free.

KeepcalmandtellthemtoFoff · 25/07/2025 20:29

I discovered this last night! I think it is a good thing but I wouldn't be putting my ID in.

Original poster
youreactinglikeafunmum · 25/07/2025 20:27

Agree that our kids need protecting from porn - but given how easy it is to bypass this, its not for me

And i wonder what the rich and famous are doing in the face of this ban - they must have a way around it 🤔

OP posts:
Original poster
youreactinglikeafunmum · 25/07/2025 20:25

Plasticwaste · 25/07/2025 20:21

Good news - you can still have a whirl with a vibrator and whatever other toys you fancy without watching trafficked women being raped and assaulted on screen for entertainment 👍

Show quote history

What about the women who make a career out of this? They aren't all being trafficked

I dont think that this will do anything really, its just another way for our data to be harvested (like it is already)

A real attempt to protect female porn stars would be a union or body regulating filming sites and a ban on 'home made' porn being distributed or hosted by porn hub 🤷‍♀️

OP posts:
pinkglitter12 · 25/07/2025 20:24

Just upload your ID like everyone else who wants to will?
Or do you care more about yourself and possible data breaches more than young people being exposed to that crap?

Plasticwaste · 25/07/2025 20:21

youreactinglikeafunmum · 25/07/2025 20:21

😄😄 he's a porn star with a big willy

And, hes very focused on the women he sleeps with, very much porn for women

Show quote history

Good news - you can still have a whirl with a vibrator and whatever other toys you fancy without watching trafficked women being raped and assaulted on screen for entertainment 👍

Original poster
youreactinglikeafunmum · 25/07/2025 20:21

IberianBlackout · 25/07/2025 06:02

I googled Owen Gray and I’m still confused. Is that an actor?

😄😄 he's a porn star with a big willy

And, hes very focused on the women he sleeps with, very much porn for women

OP posts:
Original poster
youreactinglikeafunmum · 25/07/2025 20:10

Plasticwaste · 25/07/2025 03:18

Imagine being distraught over not being able to watch porn. Absolute loser behaviour.

Take a look at yourself, and maybe do the slightest research into how damaging it is for those on the screen as well as those viewing it.

🙄🙄 god forbid a woman have a whirl with the vibrator from time to time

OP posts:
New2you · 25/07/2025 20:10

It’s a good thing

EmeraldShamrock000 · 25/07/2025 20:09

Hopefully it will have an impact on human trafficking too.
Porn is exploitation.

Original poster
youreactinglikeafunmum · 25/07/2025 20:08

SleepyRic · 25/07/2025 01:43

Oh dear, presumably because I've been talking about VPN and porn on here the cookies are working and these are the sponsored links on Google:

Edited

Wow 😭

OP posts:
Frodshamsuggest · 25/07/2025 20:06

Dare I ask who Owen Gray is?

Original poster
youreactinglikeafunmum · 25/07/2025 20:06

GrandTheftWalrus · 25/07/2025 00:55

Might bring back magazines and hedge porn.

Gonna have to Google hedge porn

Edit - no need 😄😄, thanks for the laugh

90s born so missed hedge porn - got mine from Limewire and gave the family computer a virus 🙈

OP posts:
Original poster
youreactinglikeafunmum · 25/07/2025 20:03

Christinapple · 25/07/2025 00:33

"you'll have to upload ID to watch porn"

Only if complying websites (yes, websites need to comply) think you're from the UK. Get a VPN and set it to any other country (that doesn't have age verification). Have no idea what a VPN is? Just download a browser with a free one built in (e.g. Brave) and Bob's your uncle.

Pornhub is compliant but some people seem to think PH is the only porn site on the internet. Guess what? There are hundreds of thousands of porn sites. Over 99% of them aren't going to give a damn about the UK's age verification (each site has to add a landing page for UK visitors). PH is blocked and no VPN set up? No prob just go back to Google and search (and end up on a lesser known and more dodgy porn site probably).

From a discussion I just saw it's also apparently easily fooled by using a stock image from image search of someone holding a driving licence.

Then we have the security and privacy risk. Everyone who is foolish enough to verify their ID is going on a porn user database. It's not a "if" this database will be leaked it will be a when.

The UK has been considering this idea since 2013, scrapped it in 2019 but then brought it back with the Online Harms Bill. It's the sort of law that looks good in paper but is a train wreck in reality.

That must be why I had no idea it passed!? I like to consider myself relatively switched on but until I saw a tiktok, I had no idea!

And tbf pornhub is the only site I use 😅😅

Agree, this isnt the end, more and more sites will do this

Personally, I think its to stop people exposing celebs and politicans for crimes from anonymous twitter accounts 🤷‍♀️

OP posts:
Original poster
youreactinglikeafunmum · 25/07/2025 20:00

becausewecancan · 25/07/2025 00:16

Considering that easy, instant access to porn is one of the worst things to come of the Internet Age, I can't say that I mind it being even slightly more restricted. I do wonder if it will creep into other non-pornographic areas of the internet, though.

I think its a sign of things to come for sure

OP posts:
Christinapple · 25/07/2025 19:41

VikingLady · 25/07/2025 16:07

So, if I want to seek support online for a sex related topic, I’ll have to upload ID without being able to have any faith in the security of the image (if banks and government departments can be hacked, anything can), or use a vpn?

So does that mean using things like DuckDuckGo? Is that why I’ve seen so many ads for them recently?

Separately to that, does the clumsy approach to this mean my kids could still use that same DuckDuckGo to access porn?

This seems a little badly planned.

Google is terrible for privacy so I would recommend people make the switch to duckduckgo for searches regardless.

A user earlier mentioned some porn sites permit downloads and some don't. Whether a porn site specifically offers a download directly is irrelevant since you can easily use a browser extension or 3rd party software to download any video you want from any site.

VikingLady · 25/07/2025 16:07

So, if I want to seek support online for a sex related topic, I’ll have to upload ID without being able to have any faith in the security of the image (if banks and government departments can be hacked, anything can), or use a vpn?

So does that mean using things like DuckDuckGo? Is that why I’ve seen so many ads for them recently?

Separately to that, does the clumsy approach to this mean my kids could still use that same DuckDuckGo to access porn?

This seems a little badly planned.

GreenIsMyFavoriteColour · 25/07/2025 14:35

ElonGates666 · 25/07/2025 11:54

The porn industry was moribund because sites like Pornhub let people see it for free. Those who actually make pornography found it difficult to make a profit. Pornhub and the others like it don't make porn films.

Now that people think they need to set up accounts to see porn, they might as well set up an account with one of the companies that makes pornographic videos. They will have to pay, but that's a short step from having to identify yourself. Their business will pick up. It could save the porn industry.

It's called unintended consequences. The other thing they will do is move onto one of the large number of other sites that offer the same as Pornhub. Some of them offer downloading too. So people will either start paying for their porn which means more porn made, or they will move onto worse sites.

This. Overnight they've normalised giving details to dodgy people. I really can't see how the dodgy people don't benefit from it.

And it's a terrific way to blackmail women into the porn industry. Naive girl types in her details or uses a photo to prove her age... Then they get back to her with "Provide us with content or we tell all your peers."

GreenIsMyFavoriteColour · 25/07/2025 14:32

22O725 · 25/07/2025 11:23

Who is being forced to hand over anything?

the way you talk as if the actual people who want to watch pint are the victims in this scenario is beyond comprehension

Edited
Show quote history

...and if they use their GFs bank details or e-mail? Or their mum's?

randomchap · 25/07/2025 14:16

snoopfroggy · 25/07/2025 14:14

This. And if you actually support the industry with seemingly no shame, then shame (yep, I do mean that old outdated feeling) on you.

Show quote history

Or someone else's ID. Or a fake one, or bypass it altogether? Plenty of options to avoid the block

snoopfroggy · 25/07/2025 14:14

mamagogo1 · 25/07/2025 11:59

Fine by me. If you aren’t embarrassed using it, just use your id

This. And if you actually support the industry with seemingly no shame, then shame (yep, I do mean that old outdated feeling) on you.

SeriousFaffing · 25/07/2025 13:59

ElonGates666 · 25/07/2025 10:58

I have just listened to a radio presenter who said he looked to see if there is age verification on certain sites. I think he said they were BDSM sites, and there was no age verification on any of them.

I have just looked at 2 porn video sites. There is no age verification on either. One of them allows downloading of videos. Pornhub used to allow downloading but they were stopped a while ago. It seems that Pornhub and some others will comply with the law but others will not.

It could be that it will take time for it to start to work, but that hasn't happened with banning downloads. No one needs VPN to see these sites.

As with everything, it’s going to take time to enforce. Of course there will be chancers, they don’t negate the fact that this is a step in the right direction. There are plenty who now have this set up.

Christinapple · 25/07/2025 13:54

greengreyblue · 25/07/2025 10:05

I disgagree .It won’t deter all but it will stop the majority.

Show quote history

It will only stop a small number of elderly people who have a limited social circle and are out of the loop and don't know about VPNs and think Pornhub is the only porn site on the internet and don't realise they can just search for another.

It is not going to stop anyone underage from accessing porn if they are curious/want to.

mamagogo1 · 25/07/2025 11:59

Fine by me. If you aren’t embarrassed using it, just use your id

ElonGates666 · 25/07/2025 11:54

The porn industry was moribund because sites like Pornhub let people see it for free. Those who actually make pornography found it difficult to make a profit. Pornhub and the others like it don't make porn films.

Now that people think they need to set up accounts to see porn, they might as well set up an account with one of the companies that makes pornographic videos. They will have to pay, but that's a short step from having to identify yourself. Their business will pick up. It could save the porn industry.

It's called unintended consequences. The other thing they will do is move onto one of the large number of other sites that offer the same as Pornhub. Some of them offer downloading too. So people will either start paying for their porn which means more porn made, or they will move onto worse sites.