"Season 4 of HBO's sexy and darkly funny financial drama, premiering Sunday, continues Industry's expansion beyond the cutthroat world of investment banking into tech, porn, age verification, and politics. As the season begins, there's fighting amongst the top brass at Tender, a fintech company that's recently gone public, over whether or not to continue processing payments for Siren, an adult platform akin to OnlyFans."
"In reality, the UK's Online Safety Act requiring people to verify their ages before they can view porn and other restricted content, came into effect in July 2025, long after Kay and Down came up with the storyline for Industry's most recent season. Still, it's had similar impacts to those felt by Siren. Pornhub's UK traffic dropped by almost 80 percent in light of the regulations and it's facing similar challenges in the US, where half of states have enacted age verification laws."
Season 4 of Industry moves beyond investment banking into tech, porn, age verification, and politics, following conflict at Tender over whether to keep processing payments for Siren, an adult platform similar to OnlyFans. Tender executives weigh revenue from gambling and adult sites against threats of sweeping age-verification laws and anti-porn rhetoric from the UK's Labour Party. The UK's Online Safety Act came into effect in July 2025 requiring age checks, and similar measures exist across U.S. states. Pornhub's UK traffic plunged nearly 80 percent under the regulations, and multiple U.S. bills aiming to protect minors have prompted constitutional concerns.
Read at WIRED
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