Australia’s eSafety Commissioner has brought sweeping age verification requirements into force, requiring pornography websites, app stores, AI chatbots, and other platforms to confirm users are 18 or older before granting access to adult or high-impact content.
The Age-Restricted Material Codes, which took effect today, extend Australia’s broader push to build out its digital identity and online safety infrastructure. The codes follow the country’s earlier social media access restrictions for users under 16, which came into force in December 2025. Under the new codes, pornography websites must verify user age before granting access. Apple and Google are required to implement age verification before allowing downloads of R18+ applications. AI companion chatbots capable of generating explicit, high-impact, or self-harm content are also covered, as are adult messaging services, online gaming platforms, and social media services that host pornography or self-harm material.
Platforms are responsible for building or sourcing their own age verification systems, provided those systems comply with Australia’s privacy laws. The eSafety Commissioner has not mandated a specific technical approach, leaving vendors to determine what age assurance methods they deploy.
The rollout has met immediate resistance. Pornhub blocked access for Australian users on the day the codes took effect, a move reported by the Australian Financial Review and Reuters. The protest mirrors similar actions the platform has taken in U.S. states that passed age verification legislation. Reuters also reported a surge in VPN usage in Australia as users sought to circumvent the new restrictions.
eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant signalled a willingness to escalate pressure on non-compliant platforms. According to The Age, Inman Grant indicated she would push Apple and Google to remove apps from their respective stores if those companies failed to implement age verification requirements, deploying a strategy she has used previously against non-compliant applications.
Compliance may face headwinds beyond platform resistance. The move is part of a broader pattern of age assurance legislation advancing in multiple jurisdictions. Germany has proposed using the EUDI Wallet as a mandatory age gate for social media, and Discord recently delayed its own global age verification rollout to the second half of 2026. Tama Leaver, a professor of internet studies at Curtin University, told ABC News that most Australians were unaware the changes were coming and predicted resistance once adults begin encountering age authentication prompts during ordinary browsing or app downloads.
The codes represent one of the more expansive age assurance frameworks enacted by any government to date, covering not just traditional adult content sites but AI-generated content and app distribution channels. How Apple, Google, and other major platforms respond in the coming weeks will likely shape enforcement priorities for the eSafety Commissioner’s office.
Sources: ABC News, Reuters, The Age, Australian Financial Review
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By Ji-seo Kim
