Major porn sites have blocked Australian users to protest new laws. Will kids be better off?
- Written by Giselle Woodley, Lecturer and Research Fellow in Communications and Sexologist, Edith Cowan University
Over the past couple of days, Australian users trying to access some of the most popular porn websites hit a dead end. Sites such as Pornhub have prohibited all Australians from accessing pornographic content.
The blocks came just days before the official start of new online safety codes from the eSafety commissioner, which require organisations to verify the ages of users.
This new phase of online regulation aims to crack down on content, including what eSafety describes as “lawful but awful”. Platforms with content featuring pornography, violence and self-harm, suicide or disordered eating are to take meaningful steps to prevent under 18s from accessing material.
The United Kingdom, France and almost half the states in the United States have also been blocked.
The consequences of such a move are broad-reaching. It remains to be seen how effective these laws will be at preventing children from accessing graphic content.
What are the new rules?
Much quieter than the social media ban, the industry codes aim to regulate online services to protect children. The eSafety commissioner announced the new rules last September, to come into force on March 9.
The codes require age-assurance mechanisms and platforms to filter, de-prioritise, downrank and suppress content deemed age inappropriate. Tech companies will have more power (and responsibility) to remove content and suspend users.
Companies that don’t follow the codes risk fines of up to US$49.5 million (A$77 million).
In response, adult websites Pornhub, RedTube, YouPorn and Tune8 have restricted Australian users of all ages. The sites owned by the same parent company, Aylo, said in a statement:
Australia is following a similar approach to the UK, which all our evidence shows does not effectively protect minors, and instead creates harms relating to data privacy and exposure to illegal content on non-compliant platforms.
These websites are declining to participate, citing concerns over the security of their user data, which contains more sensitive data due to the intimate content being consumed.
Kids and porn
Our research involves talking to Australian teenagers about what they think of online porn and how to address unwanted impacts.
Their views are mixed. Some cite porn as a useful source of explicit information, offering visual representations of sex and bodies. Others feel it’s harmful and can lead to unrealistic expectations about sex.
Broadly, our research participants show a high degree of online literacy.
Pornhub is the most well‐known porn website, under pressure to uphold better regulatory standards than its competitors, something teen participants in ECU research pointed out. Nicola told us:
Pornhub’s there now [operating at a higher standard] because that’s a main one, so they have more regulations […] but there’s others that I feel have less regulation to them.
Pornhub has avenues for people to request illegal or non-consensual content to be taken down. People may encounter darker, less regulated sites when searching for alternatives that may not offer such reporting options.
Teens in our research said industries and governments should do more to ban younger children, but shared that banning content makes them want to access it more.
Stigmatising sex
Consenting adults legally allowed to view porn are caught in the crossfire. These changes also affect the livelihoods of sex workers working in online spaces and people working in the adult entertainment industry.
Views on pornography are also shaped by personal beliefs, values and worldviews. Blanket banning of pornography websites raises ethical and philosophical debates about freedom of information and valid sexual expression.
While mostly used as a masturbatory aid to enhance sexual pleasure, media portrayals of pornography often disconnect it from this purpose. It’s instead positioned as dangerous. The strict regulation and banning of pornography reinforces this stigma.
There are many valid, well-documented concerns around harmful influences of pornography. These include reinforcing gender stereotypes, a lack of consent depicted on screen and potential impact on sexual scripts.
Less well circulated are the benefits to accessing pornography. For couples watching together, porn can ignite sexual desires. For individuals, it can be a source of stress relief or escapism.
Pornography has been identified as particularly beneficial for young LGBTQIA+ people who report it being the first place they could learn about their preferences and the practicalities of sex beyond the heteronormative.
Read more: Porn not ‘inherently harmful’, says first inquiry of its kind in Australia
The workarounds
People of all ages can still use VPNs (virtual private networks that make it look like they’re located elsewhere in the world) to overcome restrictions. VPN apps have already shot up in Australian downloads charts, just like they did in the UK when age verification was introduced.
These workarounds aren’t without their risks, since free VPNs can leave users vulnerable to hacking and targeted cyber attacks.
Read more: ‘Not available in your region’: what is a VPN and how can I use one safely?
While no age verification measure is completely effective, they still have value. Age verification can act as a first line of defence that can delay access, and will be useful in protecting young children from accidentally accessing unwanted content.
Differing personal views on porn aside, we’re entering a world of rising surveillance, reduced privacy and tighter control over what we’re permitted to view and engage with.
While protecting children is important, these shifts impact consenting adults too. Such moves deserve our collective concern and close attention.
Authors: Giselle Woodley, Lecturer and Research Fellow in Communications and Sexologist, Edith Cowan University
