-Updated September 23, 2026

Aylo Defends Apple Age Assurance in Response to Ofcom Investigation

Nicosia, Cyprus (September 23, 2026) – Aylo acknowledges receipt of Ofcom's letter from 21 September 2026 regarding their investigation into Aylo's failure to comply with the Online Safety Act (OSA).

In response to Ofcom's announcement, Aylo provides the following statement:

Statement by Alex Kekesi, VP Brand and Community, on behalf of Aylo

Four months following our successful launch of age verification on Pornhub for eligible adult users in the United Kingdom (UK) who have confirmed their age through Apple's UK age-verification process, Ofcom informed us that they were launching an investigation into our use of Apple's age assurance in the United Kingdom. We are committed to working constructively with Ofcom and Apple in our shared commitment to child protection.

We trust that the investigation will show Apple's UK device-level age-verification update, which renders devices operating since iOS26.4 kid safe by default, offers one of the strongest and hardest to circumvent protections currently available for helping prevent minors from accessing age-inappropriate content.

In March 2026, Apple demonstrated its commitment to child safety by becoming the first operating system developer to automatically enable adult content website filtering, effectively making adult content websites inaccessible to unverified or minor UK-based Apple iOS and iPadOS users. This update was welcomed with a public statement by Ofcom, in which it praised "Apple's decision that the UK be one of the first countries in the world to receive new child safety protections on devices [as] a real win for children and families…Our rules are flexible and designed to encourage innovation, particularly in age assurance. We've worked closely with Apple and other services to ensure they can be applied in a variety of contexts in order to ensure users are protected."

In June, the UK government announced its expectation that all operating system manufacturers should follow this same standard. In September, the UK government further announced it would introduce legislation requiring these device level controls and for them to be enabled by default, reinforcing the strength and importance of Apple's implementation, making this a highly effective age assurance method.

Ofcom's own July 2026 report identifies the fundamental gap: age assurance is effective on individual services when properly implemented, but "not yet at an overall system level, due to user migration to non-age assured sites." It recognizes that "protection of children requires a system-wide effort", expressly identifying operating systems as having a potential role in strengthening protections. This is why we support Apple's device-level approach: protecting children should not depend on every website they visit choosing to follow the rules.

Given Aylo's well-documented commitment to compliance and to the effective protection of minors, we continue to believe that Apple's implementation presents an opportunity for constructive collaboration and for the UK to establish a meaningful precedent in advancing effective, privacy-preserving online safety. Having experimented in multiple markets with multiple methods of age assurance including in the UK, Aylo believes that Apple's implementation is a pioneering approach for child safety that provides significantly stronger protection than any other age assurance method currently available in the UK market.

As outlined by Lucy Faithfull Foundation, we know that when faced with age verification, some adults are choosing riskier, irresponsible sites to avoid age checks. According to the Free Speech Coalition "less than 5% of consumers actually go through with age-verification for adult content. When confronted with a request for a facial scan and government ID, most consumers simply hit the back button and find a non-compliant site outside the mandate or log on to a VPN." The internet is global and it's impossible to patrol millions of different sites based in hundreds of different countries. Site-based regulation is always going to encourage evasion.

The UK government's recent announcements acknowledge this, as does Apple's own announcement that it will deploy the same implementation in Australia. Aylo is prepared to provide the technical evidence, testing and supporting assessments on which that position is based.

Aylo will cooperate fully with the investigation and looks forward to engaging with the case team.

-Updated May 5, 2026

Aylo welcomes eligible age-confirmed UK iOS users back to Pornhub.

Statement by Alex Kekesi, VP Brand and Community, on behalf of Aylo

Nicosia, Cyprus (May 5, 2026) – For years, Aylo has advocated for device-based age verification as the most effective and privacy-protecting approach to help prevent minors from accessing age-inappropriate content online. With the release of iOS 26.4 Apple has introduced the world’s first ever device-based age verification solution for its users in the UK, a major first step towards a global solution that stands to better protect children everywhere. As a result, today Aylo welcomes eligible age-confirmed UK iOS users back to Pornhub.

Starting today, Aylo is taking a measured step to restore access to Pornhub for eligible adult users in the UK who have confirmed their age through Apple’s UK age-verification process. Aylo was pleased to see Apple’s trailblazing announcement and subsequent deployment of the latest version of its operating system, which applies certain safety settings automatically to kids, teens, and adults who have not confirmed their age. In our view, Apple’s UK device-level age-verification update offers one of the strongest and hardest to circumvent protections currently available for helping prevent minors from accessing age-inappropriate content.

Like Aylo this view is echoed by several child protection groups. Moving forward, age-verified iOS users reaching Pornhub will be served a standard adult user experience.

-Updated January 27, 2026

Aylo Restricts Access to Pornhub in the United Kingdom.

Nicosia, Cyprus (January 27, 2026) – In line with other stakeholder groups, academics and public policy institutions, Aylo’s assessment is that the Online Safety Act (OSA) has not achieved its intended goal of protecting minors. Effective February 2, 2026 Aylo will no longer participate in the failed system that has been created in the United Kingdom as a result of the OSA’s introduction. Based on Aylo’s data and experience, this law and regulatory framework have made the internet more dangerous for minors and adults and jeopardizes the privacy and personal data of UK citizens.

New users in the UK will no longer be able to access Aylo’s content sharing platforms, including Pornhub, YouPorn, and Redtube. UK users who have verified their age will retain access through their existing accounts.

Statement by Alex Kekesi, VP Brand and Community, on behalf of Aylo:

We’ve made the difficult decision to restrict access to our sites (user-uploaded content platforms, including Pornhub, YouPorn, Redtube) in the United Kingdom.

As of February 2, 2026, our library of thoroughly moderated and consensual adult entertainment, on one of the most trusted adult sites in the world, will be restricted. Our sites, which host legal and regulated porn, will no longer be available in the UK to new users, but thousands of irresponsible porn sites will still be easy to access.

Aylo initially participated in the Online Safety Act (OSA) because we wanted to believe that a determined and prepared regulator in Ofcom could take poor legislation and manage to enforce compliance in a meaningful way, while offering more privacy preserving age assurance methods than we’d seen in other jurisdictions. Despite the clear intent of the law to restrict minors’ access to adult content and commitment to enforcement, after 6 months of implementation, our experience strongly suggests that the OSA has failed to achieve that objective. 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. We believe this framework in practice has diverted traffic to darker, unregulated corners of the internet, and has also jeopardized the privacy and personal data of UK citizens.

In October we met with both the government department which authored the OSA, and the UK regulator responsible for enforcing it, to re-iterate our concerns about the law’s vulnerabilities. We presented data and continued advocating for a device-based solution and are disappointed that despite the evidence shared, such little progress has been made, especially when an alternative and viable solution exists.

Aylo consulted with the regulator and was committed to giving the OSA every chance to succeed, but we believe Ofcom was given an impossible mandate. In our view, it is clear this is too big a challenge for any regulator to execute within the parameters of the Act. Based on our data and experience, effective enforcement is not possible, circumvention is rampant, privacy is compromised, and new, unregulated sites quickly fill any gaps left by responsible operators. In other jurisdictions, Aylo has often been one of the only major platforms to comply, only to see traffic diverted to even larger, non-compliant sites. Although larger operators are compliant, we believe the OSA has created an ecosystem where the vast majority of sites with age-inappropriate content are left unchecked. Users are turning to sites that do not have uploader verification measures and do not moderate content, leading to an increased risk of exposure to dangerous or illegal content. What is alarming about the top 10 Google and Bing search results for “free porn” in the UK is not just that more than half of the sites lack any age verification, but that the specific sites keep changing. (January 20, 2026) Search results are constantly replenished with new, non-compliant sites, demonstrating how easily new players can enter the market. This revolving door means the internet remains wide open to unmoderated, unverified and potentially unsafe content, regardless of how many times authorities attempt to crack down. The longer this goes on, these non-compliant sites are accessed by more minors and adults. As outlined by Lucy Faithfull Foundation, we know that when faced with age verification, some adults are choosing riskier, irresponsible sites to avoid age checks. Alternatively, they seek out solutions to circumvent restrictions by using virtual private networks (“VPNs”) to connect to the same websites via a different country.

We remain committed to working with the UK, European Commission and other international partners to ensure the lessons learned in the UK inform future policymaking. We continue to believe that to make the internet safer for everyone, every phone, tablet or computer should start as a kid-safe device. We’ve seen progress in this space with Apple’s recent iOS 26.1 update, which enables built-in content filters to “limit adult websites” by default on existing minors’ accounts and requires parental consent to disable them. This method blocks access to known adult content websites, cannot be circumvented with VPNs and does not introduce any data privacy risks. This is a big step for online safety that can go even further. We encourage all device manufacturers to make this the default setting on all devices, not just known minor accounts, to better protect everyone. Laws should mandate that only adults be allowed to unlock access to age-inappropriate content. We are determined to be part of this solution and want to collaborate with government, civil society and tech partners to arrive at an effective device-based age verification solution.

Media interested in Aylo’s report or the device-based solution are invited to contact the Aylo Newsroom.

-Updated October 23, 2025

Aylo Evidence Reveals Flaws and Vulnerabilities of Online Safety Act

London, England (October 23, 2025) – In July 2025, Aylo, a technology and media company, owner of a large portfolio of adult online entertainment properties, including Pornhub, YouPorn and Redtube, introduced methods recognized by regulators as being capable of highly effective age assurance in the United Kingdom in compliance with the Online Safety Act (OSA). However, despite the clear intent of the law to restrict minors’ access to adult content and Ofcom’s commitment to enforcement, effectiveness has been alarmingly limited leaving the UK’s children, as well as sensitive user information, at risk. It is characteristically impossible to enforce these regulations at scale in the digital space.

There are hundreds of thousands of adult sites accessible to global users. So far Ofcom has sent letters of notices of investigation into non-compliance to 69 sites and apps (representing less than 0.1% of accessible online destinations for pornographic content). Online searches for “free porn” display results to non-compliant sites to UK users in one click. The only fine issued so far has been to 4chan, whose provider has ignored Ofcom’s requests and has in fact filed a legal complaint calling into question whether the OSA is even applicable to US businesses. The OSA creates an ecosystem where multiple new players entered the market creating a significantly increased risk of data breaches and privacy issues.

As noted in Aylo’s News Release on July 24, 2025 (below), Aylo promised to continue to share data and engage with governments and regulators to find technological solutions that ensure minors do not access age-inappropriate content online, while preserving user privacy.

After three months of implementation, Aylo raised numerous flaws and gaps with both the government department which authored the OSA, and the UK regulator tasked with enforcing it, and concerns about the effectiveness, safety and fairness of the current regulatory approach, as most adult sites remain unregulated and continue to operate without meaningful oversight. Aylo provided research to demonstrate how UK users have responded to age verification under the OSA.

This information, sourced from internal data and independent monitoring tools, highlights the flaws and limitations of current methods, major security concerns with respect to both user privacy and dangerous content, the ease of circumvention, as well as other gaps and consequences.

Aylo also shared support for a device-based solution. Aylo continues to believe that to make the internet safer for everyone, every phone, tablet or computer should start as a kid-safe device. Only verified adults should unlock access to things like dating apps, gambling, or adult content. This is the core premise of device- based age verification, which Aylo believes is the safest and most effective option for protecting children and maintaining user privacy online.

Media interested in this report or the device-based solution are invited to contact the Aylo Newsroom.

Keeping minors off adult sites is a shared responsibility

Nicosia, Cyprus (July 24, 2025) – Aylo, a technology and media company, owner of a large portfolio of adult online entertainment properties, including Pornhub, YouPorn and Redtube, is introducing age assurance methods the regulator deems capable of being highly effective in the United Kingdom on July 24, 2025. These methods include email-based age estimation, credit card age checks, mobile network operator age checks and open banking and, as of August 5, Google Wallet.

Statement by Alex Kekesi, VP Brand and Community, on behalf of Aylo:

For years Aylo has publicly called for effective and enforceable age assurance solutions that protect minors online, while ensuring the safety and privacy of all users. The United Kingdom is the first country to present these same priorities demonstrably.

Ofcom has consulted with industry stakeholders and has presented a variety of flexible methods of age assurance that are less intrusive than we have seen in other jurisdictions, giving us the confidence to operate within their framework. Our conversations with Ofcom have been constructive and solution focused. With hundreds of thousands of platforms (including adult sites and social media) in scope, Ofcom recognizes the scale of the challenge ahead, and is approaching it with thorough consideration. Ofcom’s model is the most robust in terms of actual and meaningful protection we’ve seen to date.

When governments and regulators engage with industry in good faith, the outcome is not just better compliance, it’s smarter, more effective solutions. We have and will continue to share data and engage with governments and regulators to find technological solutions that ensure minors do not access age inappropriate content online. Effective online safety regulation depends not only on strong policy frameworks but also on realistic and scalable enforcement strategies. With hundreds of thousands of adult websites subject to regulation in addition to social media platforms, it’s essential that enforcement efforts reflect the complexity and scope of the digital landscape. We believe in Ofcom’s intent and ability to enforce compliance with the Online Safety Act. Without real enforcement, age assurance laws are meaningless, driving traffic to non-compliant sites and exposing users to dangerous content.

Keeping minors off adult sites is a shared responsibility that requires a global solution. It requires cooperation between government, tech platforms and adults. We want to be part of the solution and are hopeful that the UK model stands to set a strong precedent to that end. We have long worked with governments around the world to better protect kids online. Age assurance legislation in other jurisdictions is failing for a number of reasons, including its inconsistent and ineffective enforcement at scale, leaving hundreds of thousands of platforms with age inappropriate content accessible, most of which do not have content moderation or uploader verification measures. We know that when people choose not to age verify, they do not stop looking for adult content, they migrate to those irresponsible platforms.

We continue to believe that to make the internet safer for everyone, every phone, tablet or computer should start as a kid-safe device. Only verified adults should unlock access to things like dating apps, gambling, or adult content. This is the core premise of device- based age verification, which we believe is the safest and most effective option for protecting children and maintaining user privacy online.

About Aylo
The intersection of technology and culture. Launched in 2004, Aylo is a tech pioneer offering world class adult content platforms. The company provides trusted environments to enable a safe online user experience, and to empower its communities by celebrating diversity, inclusion and expression. Aylo holds a number of widely popular and diverse online adult entertainment and gaming properties. Its portfolio includes Pornhub, YouPorn, Brazzers, Men.com, Nutaku, and more, all of which maintain robust trust and safety protocols.

Contacts
For media inquiries, please contact:
Aylo Communication
media@aylo.com