Millions of smartphone users around the world are now facing bans and restrictions on pornography, as lawmakers in the US and Europe either block adult websites entirely or require verification of the identity and age of users accessing such content.
Millions of smartphone users around the world are now facing bans and restrictions on pornography, as lawmakers in the US and Europe either block adult websites entirely or require verification of the identity and age of users accessing such content.
According to Forbes, regarding this situation, Google has issued a warning against the use of VPN services, which are widely used by users to bypass restrictions.
While several US states have introduced various kinds of bans on pornography, it was the United Kingdom that provided the most tangible push for restrictions.
This country requires age verification on porn sites, which the country’s authorities say has led to a reduction in porn consumption. Although in reality, according to the publication, nothing of the sort has happened — it’s just that a huge number of users have started using VPNs.
«Porn users are now pretending to be elsewhere, accessing Pornhub and other sites through servers in unrestricted countries. Proton VPN said that «just minutes after the Internet Safety Act came into force» the number of VPN registrations originating in the UK «rose by more than 1,400%. Unlike previous surges, this one is sustainable,» the publication writes.
Meanwhile, NordVPN saw a 1,000% increase in subscriptions in the UK during the same period.
According to TechRadar, a total of «10.7 million VPNs were downloaded onto users’ gadgets in the first half of 2025,» and the UK is «one of the fastest-growing VPN markets in the world.»
In this situation, Google drew attention to an important aspect in connection with the popularization of VPN services: attackers are massively distributing malicious software under the guise of legal VPN applications.
Therefore, Google encourages you to use only trusted apps from official sources.
At the same time, in the future — at first jokingly, and now more seriously — the authorities of a number of countries are discussing potential restrictions on the use of any VPN services.
As dev.ua wrote, during the first nine months of 2025, 1,498 criminal proceedings were opened in Ukraine under Article 301 of the Criminal Code (pornographic content) — this is 13% more than in the same period last year.
Meanwhile, adult ChatGPT users who can verify their age will have access to a less censored version of the AI chatbot, which will contain erotic material and will be able to sext with users.
