Nearly half of porn users admit to being on adult sites with no age checks, says survey

"Nearly half of pornography users have accessed adult sites without age verification checks since new laws came into force, new research shows."

"Around a third used a virtual private network to avoid age checks on websites that do require them since government-mandated rules were introduced in July. A VPN can be used to mask a users' location, allowing them to connect to the internet as though they were in a different country."

"Alexandra Bailey, the foundation's head of psychology and an associate professor at the University of Roehampton, said: These sites can expose people to harmful material, including illegal content depicting child sexual abuse. Even if you're not looking for it, you could encounter it - and that can have serious, life-changing consequences. Rule changes introduced under the Online Safety Act stipulate that porn websites should have strong age checks in place to stop children accessing harmful material. In December, Ofcom fined AVS group - which runs 18 adult websites - 1 million for not having strong enough age checks, plus 50,000 for failing to respond to information requests."

Nearly half of pornography users have accessed adult sites without age verification checks since new laws came into force. A similar proportion watched content that made them uncomfortable. Around a third used virtual private networks to bypass mandatory age checks introduced in July. Adults seeking anonymity are turning to riskier sites where exposure to illegal or harmful material, including child sexual abuse images, is more likely. More than 81,426 Londoners contacted the Lucy Faithfull Foundation's Stop It Now service last year, representing about one in three UK callers. Regulators fined AVS Group for inadequate age checks and non-compliance with information requests.

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