UK's New Age Verification Requirement Thwarted in the Simplest Way Imaginable

Summary

Earlier this week, the United Kingdom’s age assurance requirement for sites that publish pornographic material went into effect, which has resulted in everything from Pornhub to Reddit and Discord displaying an age verification panel when users attempt to visit. There’s just one little problem. As The Verge notes, all it takes to defeat the age-gating is a VPN, and those aren’t hard to come by these days. Here’s the deal: Ofcom, the UK’s telecom regulator, requires online platforms to verify the age of their users if they are accessing a site that either publishes or allows users to publish pornographic material. Previously, a simple click of an “I am over 18” button would get you in. Now, platforms are mandated to use a verification method that is “strong” and “highly effective.” A few of those acceptable methods include verifying with a credit card, uploading a photo ID, or submitting to a “facial age estimation” in which you upload a selfie so a machine can determine if you look old enough to pleasure yourself responsibly. Those options vary from annoying to creepily intrusive, but there’s a little hitch in the plan: Currently, most platforms are determining a user’s location based on IP address. If you have an IP that places you in the UK, you have to verify. But if you don’t, you’re free to browse without interruption. And all you need to change your IP address is a VPN. Ofcom seems aware of this very simple workaround. According to the BBC, the regulator has rules that make it illegal for platforms to host, share, or allow content that encourages people to use a VPN to bypass the age authentication page. It also encouraged parents to block or control VPN usage by their children to keep them from dodging the age checkers. It seems that people are aware of this option. Google Trends shows that searches for the term “VPN” have skyrocketed in the UK since the age verification requirement went into effect. There are certainly valid arguments for limiting the access...