Extra 5m age checks carried out each day under crackdown on pornography sites

Five million extra online age checks have been carried out each day since the introduction of tougher restrictions on pornography sites.

- Dan Milmo

The Age Verification Providers Association (AVPA) said there had been a sharp increase in additional checks in the UK since Friday, when proof of identity became mandatory for accessing pornography.

"As a result of new codes under the Online Safety Act coming into force on Friday, we have seen an additional 5m age checks on a daily basis, as UK-based internet users seek to access sites that are age restricted," said Iain Corby, the executive director of the association.

The UK has also seen a surge in the popularity of virtual private networks (VPNs), which obscure a user's location and thus allow them to access sites that are blocked in their own country. Four of the top five free apps on the Apple download store in the UK are VPN services, with Proton, the most popular, reporting a 1,800% increase in downloads.

Ofcom, the UK's communications regulator and enforcer of the Online Safety Act, has indicated it could start formal investigations into inadequate age checks this week.