Pornhub owner to block new UK users users, citing minors' protection

LONDON - An adult content giant, which owns Pornhub, YouPorn and Redtube, said Tuesday it will block new users in Britain from February 2, citing the protection of minors.

Cyprus-based Aylo said in a statement that users who have previously verified their age will still have access to the content and existing accounts.

Updates to the UK's Online Safety Act requiring age verification have "diverted traffic to darker, unregulated corners of the internet" and "has not achieved its goal of protecting minors", Aylo said.

The statement added: "We cannot continue to operate within a system that, in our view, fails to deliver on its promise of child safety, and has had the opposite impact."

New UK rules since July require porn sites to carry out strict age verification checks through tools such as facial imagery or credit card identification -- or face hefty fines.

Those found to be failing can face fines of up to £18 million ($25 million) or 10 percent of qualifying worldwide revenue, whichever is greater.

In the most serious cases, UK regulator Ofcom can take legal action to block access to the site or platform concerned from the UK.

"Despite the clear intent of the law to restrict minors' access to adult content...our experience strongly suggests that the OSA has failed to achieve that objective," said Tuesday's statement.