Pornhub to block new UK users from February – Tech Digest

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Pornhub has announced it will drastically restrict access for UK users starting February 2, 2026, in a direct protest against the country’s tightened age-verification requirements.

Under the new policy, only existing users who have previously created an account will be able to view content. Aylo, Pornhub’s parent company, claims the move was a “difficult decision” driven by the UK’s Online Safety Act (OSA).

The company argues that the legislation has failed its primary goal of protecting minors. Instead, Aylo asserts the law has diverted traffic away from regulated platforms towards “darker, unregulated corners of the internet” where age checks are non-existent.

The impact of the law on Pornhub’s business has already been severe. Aylo reported that traffic to the site plummeted by 77% in October 2025 following the initial implementation of age checks.

The restrictions will also extend to other major adult sites owned by Aylo, including YouPorn and Redtube.

Regulators and safety advocates, however, view the situation differently. Ofcom maintains that the tougher checks are fulfilling their purpose by preventing children from “stumbling across” inappropriate material.

A spokesperson for the regulator noted that adult services have a simple choice: implement robust age checks to protect users or block access to the UK market entirely.

Aylo and its owners, Ethical Capital Partners, suggest that the responsibility for age assurance should lie with device manufacturers like Apple and Google at the operating system level, rather than individual websites.

While cybersecurity experts agree that device-level controls are useful, they warn they are not a “silver bullet,” especially as many users have turned to VPNs (Virtual Private Networks) to bypass regional restrictions.

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology has remained firm, stating the law does not prevent adults from viewing legal content but insists that services must ensure under-18s are excluded.

As the February deadline approaches, the UK’s largest adult platform appears ready to trade its market dominance for a stand against what it calls “poor legislation.”

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