VPNs up, porn websites down as Australia implements online age restrictions

It began requiring websites which disseminate pornography to verify that users are over 18. Read more at straitstimes.com.

SYDNEY – Australians were downloading virtual private networks (VPNs) in droves, while one of the world’s largest pornography distributors said it was blocking users as the country rolled out sweeping online age restrictions on March 9.

In December 2025, Australia became the first country to impose a nationwide ban on teenagers using social media. A separate law now requires AI-powered chatbot services to keep certain content – including pornography, extreme violence and self-harm and eating disorder material – from minors or face fines of up to A$49.5 million (S$44.4 million).

The country also joined Britain, France and dozens of US states requiring websites which disseminate pornography to verify that users are over 18. App stores must also run age checks before allowing downloads of software labelled “18+”.

Australia’s eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said the measures aimed to afford children the same protection online as the world expected offline.

“A child today can’t walk into a bar and order a drink, they can't stroll into a strip club or browse an adult shop or sit down at a blackjack table in a casino,” she told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.

“This just really brings... those protections that we put for kids in place to the digital realm.”