If 2024 was the year lawmakers talked about online age verification, 2025 was the year they actually flipped the switch. In 2025, across parts of Europe and the US, age checks for certain websites (especially pornography) turned long‑running child‑protection debates into real‑world access controls.
Overnight, users found entire categories of sites locked behind ID checks, platforms geo‑blocking whole countries, and VPN traffic surging as people tried to get around the new walls. From France’s hardline stance on adult sites to the UK’s Online Safety Act, to a patchwork of new rules across multiple US states, these “show me your ID before you browse” systems are reshaping the web.
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Source: Malwarebytes News
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