Use of VPNs to bypass age checks on porn sites to be investigated by Australia’s eSafety watchdog

The eSafety commission will assess whether adult sites are allowing users to bypass Australia’s new age verification restrictions with VPNs. Photograph: True Images/Alamy

Nine in 10 of the most visited adult sites used by Australians now have age checks for users, according to the online safety regulator, but eSafety has said it will assess whether those sites are allowing users to bypass restrictions with virtual private networks (VPNs).

In March, new codes required adult sites, among a range of other services including AI companion chatbots and app stores to implement age verification for users attempting to access pornography, extremely violent material or self-harm content, in order to block under-18s from access.