Aylo has said that its porn sites will introduce more robust age verification checks in the UK, to ensure that its sites’ users are aged 18 or over, so they comply with new UK online safety laws, even as it argues that device-level verification is a more viable implementation in other countries.
The company, which runs sites including Pornhub, YouPorn and RedTube, confirmed that it would “introduce regulator approved age assurance methods in the United Kingdom” by July 25, the deadline for porn sites to comply with the new rules.
Ofcom, the UK’s communications regulatory body, is implementing and enforcing more robust age verification laws for UK access to online porn, and has already started investigations into sites suspected of not complying. Sites and platforms that create their own porn were compelled to comply with tougher age verification processes earlier in 2025, while sites that allow the sharing of porn, but don’t create it, have until July 25.
Alex Kekesi, Pornhub’s Vice President of brand and community, said that Aylo was confident that it could operate in the framework of the rules Ofcom was enforcing, which were brought in under the UK’s Online Safety Act. Kekesi said that the UK rules were “less intrusive than we have seen in other jurisdictions”.
Under the Online Safety Act, porn sites and platforms must ensure “highly effective” and “robust” age verification for access to adult content in the UK, that can be done using government ID for verification. Currently, to access Pornhub in the UK you just need to click a box to confirm you are aged 18 or over.
“Our conversations with Ofcom have been constructive and solution focused”
Alex Kekesi, Pornhub VP of Brand & Community
Aylo has not revealed the details of its incoming new UK age verification processes. The company announcing that it will comply with the new rules marks a break from its trend of blocking access to its sites in regions bringing in tougher age verification.
The Cyprus-based company has blocked access to its porn sites in many US states, following new age verification laws being introduced, and recently briefly blocked access in France. Aylo’s line has consistently been that age verification should take place on devices rather than at site and platform level.
“Our conversations with Ofcom have been constructive and solution focused… Ofcom’s model is the most robust in terms of actual and meaningful protection we’ve seen to date,” Kekesi says.
A global movement
Tougher age verification processes for online porn access have been introduced in many countries and regions recently. Some industry-watchers have said that doing so risks pushing users towards smaller, less-regulated porn sites that do not require age verification despite new rules, that may contain more potentially harmful or illegal content.
Kekesi echoed this sentiment, and repeated Aylo’s call for the onus for porn access to be placed on device-level age verification.
“We know that when people choose not to age verify, they do not stop looking for adult content, they migrate to those irresponsible platforms,” Kekesi said. “We continue to believe that to make the internet safer for everyone, every phone, tablet or computer should start as a kid-safe device.”
She added: “Only verified adults should unlock access to things like dating apps, gambling, or adult content. This is the core premise of device- based age verification, which we believe is the safest and most effective option for protecting children and maintaining user privacy online.”
Pornhub is one of four sites being investigated by the European Commission, which suspects that the site is not complying with EU age verification rules in other EU-based countries.
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