Pornhub is facing serious challenges. Government-imposed blocks, implemented in the name of child protection, are increasingly restricting access to the popular adult site. Now, reports indicate that the platform's parent company, Aylo, has reached out to tech giants like Google, Apple, and Microsoft, asking for help in creating a more effective age-verification system.
According to a letter
According to a letter obtained by Wired, Aylo's chief legal officer highlights major flaws in current verification methods, which depend on individual websites and have proven "fundamentally flawed and counterproductive" when it comes to keeping minors away from adult content. In regions like Louisiana (United States), where users must upload a photo ID to access Pornhub, traffic has dropped by 80%. In Europe, similar declines have been observed in the UK following the implementation of the Online Safety Act, which requires facial-scanning to confirm age.
Aylo on existing measures
Aylo argues that the existing measures unfairly penalize platforms that comply with the rules while failing to stop minors from accessing inappropriate content. In some cases, the systems are easily bypassed: for example, in the UK, algorithms can be tricked using images of video-game characters. Meanwhile, many adult sites continue to operate without any form of age verification, putting compliant platforms at a clear disadvantage.
Pornhub's proposed solution
Pornhub's proposed solution is a verification system built directly into users' devices. Google could offer the quickest support through its Credential Manager, already deployed on Google Play, which allows apps and websites to confirm a user's age after a single verification. Such a system could be more secure and reliable than site-by-site checks and may also address privacy concerns for adult users.
Google, Apple and Microsoft
So far, Apple has not commented on Aylo's request, and Microsoft maintains that age verification should be handled by the services themselves. Pornhub hopes that broader adoption of device-level verification could not only protect its business but also strengthen online safety for minors. As debates around age-verification intensify, the proposal could set a precedent for apps and websites, while also raising new questions to consider. In any case, what do you think of this new proposal?