Another major country is accused of age-gating adult materials, with some 59 million residents set to be banned from porn websites unless they go through age verification or hand over personal details. In a time when we're warned more than ever about privacy online, there are obvious concerns about what will be done with this information if it gets into the wrong hands. Others are concerned that data about what we've been watching online could be used against us by bad actors or even the government itself.
2025 has seen the introduction of somewhat draconian laws that banned porn sites in 17 US states, levied a brief ban in France, and led to protests against age verification laws when the United Kingdom followed suit.
For those questioning what the issue is, the fact that Pornhub was said to be hemorrhaging one million users a day shows how effective the ban actually is. A growing list of banned countries has extended to everywhere from Indonesia to the UAE, Vietnam to North Korea.
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In the ultimate case of 'blue balling', Italy is the latest country set to ban pornography. By the end of November 2025, Italy's 59 million residents will have to go through extra steps before accessing adult materials online. The regulatory agency for communications is known as AGCOM, and has announced the introduction of age verification rules that will come into play on November 12.
An initial list covers around 50 sites, with obvious ones like Pornhub, OnlyFans, and XHamster all facing these restrictions.
Being verified by 'certified third parties', these include banks or mobile operators that already have the relevant information, although there are major privacy concerns.
The legislation is designed to protect minors, while we're promised that these third parties use a 'double anonymity' process where they'll see your identity but not what materials you've accessed.
Still, it's an annoying extra hurdle that will require someone to undergo the process every time they want to visit one of these sites.
Pornhub previously clapped back at the ruling in the UK, saying that the government was simply funneling internet users to seedier corners of the internet where pornography isn't as regulated.
Elsewhere, a massive spike in the use of VPNs showed that defiant citizens were taking to the new rules too kindly.
Porn sites are left with no other choice, as anyone who violates the legislation could face fines of up to €250,000 ($288,000).
Responding to the latest news on Reddit, one disgruntled person wrote: "This is not about porn. This is about getting access to your identity. Turns out people will give up their identity for access to porn. They won't pay money for it, but giving up their identity is probably worse."
When someone questioned whether porn is really such a big issue, another replied saying: "It's a matter of control and data administration, not porn. Porn is just the scapegoat."
A third said: "In the UK VPN providers saw a surge of over 4000% but as a direct consequence traffic to pornhub decreased by 70%. unless you have a walled garden there will always be alternatives, the shadier ones don't give a crap as their jurisdiction is somewhere else. The known big players have an incentive to comply but in doing so will lose viewers."