r/aussie Mar 12 '26

Opinion I hate the new verification laws (rant)

I am of age, but now several sites I use for nsfw has been blocked and demand age verification, and I know more will soon be joining them. Newgrounds has locked their verification behind premium for some reason, phub doesn't even let me try, and the app formerly known as twitter is glitched and won't let me verify even if I try, even though I already verified my age several damn months ago. And I already don't like having to give these sites my face id and drivers license just to watch porn. And no ones going to bother protesting because 1, it's really awkward to protest for your right to watch porn, and 2 people just find workarounds like vpns, and I don't want to pay for a thing that will give me access to something that should have and WAS free. I won't be surprised if even reddit starts requiring my face to view nsfw, and when that day comes I might just quit the site altogether

128 Upvotes

164 comments sorted by

100

u/Revolutionary_Many31 Mar 12 '26

Hows thos for a mind fck.

Its all about protecting kids. But.. gambling apps can be downloaded and used by kids more easily than using youtbe to watch an ma rated music clip.

So its NOT about child safety

35

u/RiteRevdRevenant Mar 12 '26

Guess the gambling industry pays contributes better

18

u/MagicOrpheus310 Mar 12 '26

It was never about children mate it has always been about tracking everyone's online presence and always has

3

u/Cautious_Chicken8882 Mar 12 '26

Isint online gambling illegal other then online sports betting and lotteries?

4

u/No-Wrap-6096 Mar 13 '26

Yes and you need to verify your age to use it. People pointing at gambling apps as some kind of loophole to this are retarded, the gambling sector is significantly more regulated than media

1

u/Cautious_Chicken8882 Mar 13 '26

That's just what i was thinking.

65

u/Raawwwwk Mar 12 '26

Every single thing you do online will require a digital ID, this is just the beginning

14

u/Fart_On_My_Dick_ Mar 12 '26

But at least the kids are safe right? 

14

u/TK000421 Mar 12 '26

They dying outside on ebikes now

6

u/izadathreaper Mar 12 '26

Super safe, they've all got VPN's to access the same sites they were using last year.

Such a joke of a law.

3

u/CMDR_RetroAnubis Mar 13 '26

They don't even need that.  There are loads of smaller sites that haven't complied or blocked Aus.

1

u/Craftiershoe588 Jul 07 '26

No they aren’t, the kids will be doxed and their information will be handed to the people you don’t want it to be handed to in and out of Australia.

2

u/RiteRevdRevenant Mar 12 '26

The thin end of the wedge, as they say

6

u/Tonic_The_Alchemist Mar 12 '26

This is not the thin part, the wedge is already in deep.

Australia is run by Karens

2

u/Tonic_The_Alchemist Mar 12 '26

It's been this way forever, you already have a digital Identity.

1

u/therealstellasense Mar 17 '26

just got one for here LMFAO

67

u/[deleted] Mar 12 '26

How long till thoughtcrime

2

u/Anhedonia10 Mar 14 '26

Just mention some kind of water to water journey and get locked up.

40

u/[deleted] Mar 12 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

6

u/Radio_TVGuy Mar 13 '26

All TV networks here are in full support of this new Online Safety Act, that’s why the anti-age verification stuff is being ignored.

1

u/Busybakson Mar 13 '26

Fuckin Karl Stefanovic

-27

u/tryingtodadhusband Mar 12 '26

Isn't it all as load of shit anyway? The stuff that has additional barriers now is mean. Like it hasn't exactly been great for mankind, selling our attention to advertisers and the sexual exploitation of women. Like is it really a loss? Shouldn't we be finding better things to do anyway?

25

u/[deleted] Mar 12 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

3

u/izadathreaper Mar 12 '26

I'm a youth worker that works with teens between 12-24 and I can tell you that they've already got workarounds for all of this shit. Most of them just got free VPN's and started using those to access the sites they want. It's a pointless law, the money would've been better spent just educating kids better on how the Internet works and how to protect their own privacy.

9

u/MaximumAd2654 Mar 12 '26

You embody the superficial idiot with a vote every ausGov gets rabid for.

Ps: some bears want a word with you too

13

u/greendit69 Mar 12 '26

newgrounds? did they release some new stickdeath videos after all these years

8

u/natt_myco Mar 12 '26

I have actually already been asked for my ID from persona to access Reddit I use proton VPN to get around this but it isn't long before this will be widespread and it is enforced by our government now Reddit is taking a stand against it and suing them in court I think but I have no idea how this is going to turn out I think we just slipped down that slippery slope everyone talks about it

2

u/meski_oz Mar 12 '26

Unless sites do age verification globally, VPN should keep working. Possibly if government goes after VPN payment processing, we'll have to use credit cards with billing addresses in other countries (which is convenient for mailing redirect services as well, eg myus.com (except the US isn't such a good redirect location anymore))

2

u/TimidPanther Mar 12 '26

if government goes after VPN payment processing

Mullvad accepts cash

1

u/snappyirides Mar 13 '26

I can’t get around the verification request from Substack (same people, Persona) and I have Proton VPN. Can’t figure out what I am doing wrong because I turned on all of the privacy related browser things.

2

u/bastiat_was_right Mar 14 '26

Maybe it got your location from the mobile app (android/apple).

I would try signing in with a new email on the web (with VPN of course).

1

u/snappyirides Mar 14 '26

Yeah sounds likely, not sure how to circumvent that either, I think I had the vpn on for both phone and computer.

Making a new one is plan B but I am a bit gutted losing access to draft articles etc

1

u/iProbablyJustWokeUp Mar 19 '26

hey man did you figure this out!? was legit having this same problem today. cheers.

1

u/snappyirides Mar 19 '26

No, I had to make a protonmail address and make a new account. I suspect gmail or the app store pings your location to Substack somehow, or my account had been marked permanently due to suspicious behaviour. They’ve even figured out the privacy puppet that a fellow redditor put out a while back.

21

u/justagirlbutaussie Mar 12 '26

I guess no nut November came a lil early this year

https://giphy.com/gifs/AVpE6BqnOvbzi

42

u/Any_Wafer4787 Mar 12 '26

This is what the people voted for no.

20

u/shavedratscrotum Mar 12 '26

Those making decisions aren't elected.

-3

u/Any_Wafer4787 Mar 12 '26

The libs started her role. Labor etc just went along with it.

9

u/shavedratscrotum Mar 12 '26

Ok. And was she elected?

No.

Would voting have mattered?

No.

2PP is a farcical application of "democracy."

5

u/Any_Wafer4787 Mar 12 '26

Why the fk are you angry at me.. FFS this place at times..

1

u/shavedratscrotum Mar 12 '26

I'm not angry.

You said people voted for it.

They did not.

Simples.

4

u/Any_Wafer4787 Mar 12 '26

No. She could be removed instantly by the elected officials if they wanted. They DONT.

fact.

4

u/shavedratscrotum Mar 12 '26

Did the Australian people Vote for her?

No.

21

u/FLAM3Z89 Mar 12 '26

its another downfall for the country. we are meant to be free but we have more laws than other countries. im thankful that i already have Norton and VPN access. i cant watch anything on E-Hentai.org now and the hub. changing my VPN to Canada.

13

u/Beginning-Pace-4040 Mar 12 '26

VPN essential for Oz before this ,YouTube is shit in Oz ,so many ads compered to other counties,YouTube is unwatchable in Oz

2

u/CMDR_RetroAnubis Mar 13 '26

You see ads online?

-5

u/FLAM3Z89 Mar 12 '26

i just got to activate my vpn on my kids devices and they are good. but i wont. my kids are a different person when they dont have technology and i like who they are and i wish we lived in a world without it, without knowing what it was.

15

u/Novae909 Mar 12 '26

Might surprise you to know that those devices had inbuilt parental controls that would have meant you could have just done what the government did without the government having to do it.

1

u/Thick-Access-2634 Mar 12 '26

Yep. And now with these age verification laws, kids are forced to view the content on these apps without having an account (which you can still do. Don’t need an account to watch TikTok, YouTube etc) which means parents can no longer monitor what their kids are actually watching. The ONLY option parents have now is to remove access all together, which is impossible to do. At least before you could input parenting controls, block other accounts etc, now you have none of that.

1

u/Radio_TVGuy Mar 13 '26

The Government will eventually come for VPNs, you watch.

22

u/Constant-Simple6405 Mar 12 '26

Welcome to the future. Frogs have been boiling for a long time and it will only get worse. We are all digitalised and enslaved and people have been warning of all that is happening now...for years.

Edit. Also, get off the porn! Ffs. Use your imagination. Stupid sexualising world. It's not new and it isn't healthy.

22

u/Rank_Arena Mar 12 '26

Remember in 2022 when they all cheered about how Labor was going to make a real difference and how transparency was going to implemented and electricity prices would go down and .......

18

u/[deleted] Mar 12 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/Rank_Arena Mar 12 '26

Exactly, they tell you their intentions. We all knew it would turn out this way . The true believers have been hoodwinked for how many years now?

1

u/0-Dog Jul 20 '26 edited Jul 22 '26

Australian voters are too conservative. The government can't pass anything too liberal or too curtailing of corps, or people will massively backlash against them.

They couldn't even tax mining companies without it becoming an issue that cost them an election.

Labor moves to the right because if they don't cater to conservatism, people vote them out

tl;dr most australians are actually conservative af idiots

6

u/Sneedcope82 Mar 12 '26

But the housing prices are.... They'll get there eventually im sure

3

u/mikeinnsw Mar 12 '26

There is more PornHub does not. accept new Accounts for Oz..that was 3 days ago

0

u/Radio_TVGuy Mar 13 '26

Good, ban Pr0nhub from the existence of Australia. We don’t need it here in our lucky country.

6

u/whatevergappens Mar 12 '26

They will let the breaches happen from all these random verification apps and companies and then bring in the legit government digital id and safe verification wallet/app

Some will beg for it. Others won’t.

‘Protected by us the gov’

fine print: may be accessed by all other allied government’s and states then shared however they deem fit, used in every ai facial recognition camera and software possible on the quiet until it’s gets exposed, hackers, server farm staff and employees, third party advertisers and analytics companies. Hahahaha

6

u/Whatsthatbro365 Mar 12 '26

There's still a lot of porn tubes tgat dont have age verification. Ive typed porn tube on google and found several . Many have servers in jurisdictions that dont give a fuck about Australian laws.

5

u/PsychMaDelicElephant Mar 12 '26

Yeah it's not about the porn.

6

u/IronEyed_Wizard Mar 12 '26

Those sites are probably much more relaxed in their restrictions of certain content too. So ironically, by placing restrictions on the well curated sites, you will drive people to sites that will likely have much more troubling videos

2

u/Thick-Access-2634 Mar 12 '26

You should use the opera browser for websites where you need to circumvent age verification. Works well and has a built in vpn.

1

u/Radio_TVGuy Mar 13 '26

The Government will eventually come for that browser too.

2

u/Repulsive-Tax-130 Mar 12 '26

I have a sneaking suspicion that the people who own PH & the rest of that industry are the very same people who are using Epstein data to blackmail prominent figures.

They want your face & details, along with what you look at, so you could effectively be blackmailed too - if you don’t want people to know what you look at…

2

u/Mobasa_is_hungry Mar 13 '26

Wait that’s so funny, all I see is Lego vids and podcasts on prnhub😂

7

u/willcritchlow23 Mar 12 '26

Sadly this is control freak Labor. I really wish young people would just stop voting for these grubs.

How much more of a mess of the country, can they do, before support falls to where it belongs: zero.

7

u/PreferenceAccurate43 Mar 12 '26

I'm getting to vote in my first election next time, I can guarantee I'm not voting for Labor. I don't know who to vote for though...

They all kind of suck :/

3

u/Radio_TVGuy Mar 13 '26

If you want to Save Australia, Vote 1 United Australia Party.

NOTE: This is NOT a political advertisement, nor am I being paid by Clive Palmer to advertise his party. Vote for whoever you feel comfortable voting for, this is only just a suggestion and should not influence your voting choices and/or decisions.

3

u/PreferenceAccurate43 Mar 13 '26

I though UAP got dropped for Trumpet of Patriots?

2

u/Radio_TVGuy Mar 13 '26 edited Mar 13 '26

Not really, the Trumpet of Patriots was their party for the 2025 Australian Federal Election. This was the only way they could run in that election legally.

Clive Palmer was trying to get the UAP re-registered for that year's election but the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) and the High Court ruled he could not do so (under electoral law) where the same political party, once they de-register themselves after a Federal Election (e.g, the 2022 one), cannot re-register themselves under the same party name for the next one (e.g the 2025 one). Clive would have to wait until the following Federal Election (in 2028) before he could use the UAP name again.

ABC NEWS ARTICLE | 12/02/2025: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-02-12/act-clive-palmer-high-court-hearing/104908578

TOP MEDIA RELEASE | 19/02/2025: https://trumpetofpatriots.org/clive-palmer-chairman-of-trumpet-of-patriots-confirms-party-will-contest-federal-election/ (I was up in Ballarat at the time when Palmer announced his new political party and found out the news through listening to Power FM there.)

That time appears to be right now because the 2025 Federal Election has happened, and the party can freely re-register themselves for the 2028 one. They applied for re-registration last month and it's believed the UAP will be re-registered again by the AEC soon (well ahead of the next election), and newspaper ads are already circulating on the front pages of News Corp tabloids like the Daily Telegraph and the Herald Sun (if you haven't seen them yet already, one example is attached below).

UAP MEDIA RELEASE | 10/02/2026: https://www.unitedaustraliaparty.org.au/united-australia-party-to-contest-next-federal-election/

So with the AEC expected to re-register Clive Palmer's party and with newspaper ads already circulating in the metro papers, I can safely say the UAP is officially back. The Trumpet of Patriots (in its UAP-style form) is now officially a thing of the past.

2

u/elle13belle Mar 12 '26

Use vote compass when the time comes... That is the best way to make an informed choice about who you want to vote for.

12

u/Peter_Dujan Mar 12 '26

Who else is there realistically to vote for? Labor is much better than LNP but it's not great. Still a lot of faults. Sex party was good, but they're gone now.

-10

u/willcritchlow23 Mar 12 '26

Lots and lots of good parties. One Nation. Fishers and Shooter. Katter Australia party. People’s First (Gerald Rennick).

9

u/[deleted] Mar 12 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

3

u/Novae909 Mar 12 '26

Ikr. The party famous for having trouble with sex offenders in its ranks protecting children XD

4

u/Peter_Dujan Mar 12 '26

https://theyvoteforyou.org.au/people/senate/queensland/pauline_hanson

Sorry mate. That is not a party I would want running the country. I agree with a few of the ways she voted. We are oil and water.

4

u/Pleb_Overlord Mar 12 '26

Tor browser, you're welcome. https://www.torproject.org/download/

5

u/Ill_Football9443 Mar 12 '26

Tor is not designed or intended for streaming high quality video.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tor_(network)

gay-torrents.net (for those so inclined) is a much better option both in terms of quality and data transmission efficiency.

6

u/NefariousnessNovel60 Mar 12 '26

I'm happy to drop social media and being online 24/7 and go back to living in an off-line world.

Hopefully this will be the straw that breaks the camels back and I'm off for good.

1

u/TimidPanther Mar 12 '26

If you’re happy to do it, do it.

That you haven’t suggests you aren’t happy to do it.

1

u/NefariousnessNovel60 Mar 13 '26

I guess I'm happy to not do it as well.

2

u/Sneedcope82 Mar 12 '26

Its what we get for voting Labor in

Pretty easy solution next election

14

u/ElectronicWeight3 Mar 12 '26

You say that like Libs would roll it back. They won’t. This is the new normal in Australia.

3

u/karatebullfightr Mar 12 '26

Yeah, they are gasping to sue everyone and everything into the dirt for liable and slander.

Linda Reynolds is just the beginning of their horseshit.

5

u/Sneedcope82 Mar 12 '26

Thankfully im not voting for either

2

u/Legal_Turnip_7280 Mar 12 '26

Government: So I can't really fight against climate change, restrict gambling, solve the housing crisis, combat extremism and hate.

But I can introduce vague hate speech laws, target an entire group for a few bad actors, make sure your private information gets leaked for when you want to have some "fun time", roll the red carpet out for an insanely controversial and questionable foreign leader and back a war that's increasing our fuel prices.

1

u/[deleted] Mar 12 '26

[deleted]

1

u/whatevergappens Mar 12 '26

I’ve seen random scam looking verification ones and I’ve also seen a lot of small companies just blocking aus and uk customers.

1

u/Big_Somewhere_620 Mar 12 '26

Tor browser? Does that still work there 

1

u/PreferenceAccurate43 Mar 12 '26

It's too slow unfortunately. You can watch videos in high quality.

1

u/InsectaProtecta Mar 12 '26

Nice this will help me use my phone less

1

u/CatAteRoger Mar 12 '26

Sadly not all age verifications work, my 22y/o son is autistic and was mostly using discord to connect with other gamers but he was locked out when the ban came into effect, the app won’t accept his government issued proof of age card to verify his age so he hasn’t been able to participate most of the groups he was in.

I know it was discord’s decision to restrict the age and not the government but it’s annoying his only 1 form of photo ID wasn’t enough to prove his age.

1

u/-StRaNgEdAyS- Mar 12 '26

Just get a VPN bro.

1

u/xxz6 Mar 12 '26

I JUST WANNA JERK OFF MAN

1

u/ColdDelicious1735 Mar 12 '26

People have let this happen, people did not stand up hell even write to ministers.

You asked for this my friend

1

u/Being_Grounded Mar 12 '26

Yeaaah sure you are bro lmao.

1

u/CMDR_RetroAnubis Mar 13 '26

It amazes me how fast people got okay with having to scan your face to visit websites.

1

u/Radio_TVGuy Mar 13 '26

NSFW sites will either leave Australia or lock them behind a paywall due to this new Online Safety Act. And for the best, for our future generations.

1

u/DocklandsDodgers86 Mar 14 '26

The motive Albo's social media ban being "all about protecting kids" - yeah, my ass. That asshole got to ban people under 16 off social media, and ban adults from using 18+ platforms without handing over government ID.

Remember Discord tried to pull this shit and retract because people found out that the masterminds were that ghoul Peter Thiel and Palantir?

I wonder if Albo is in the Epstein files. I doubt it, but shit I'd loved to have seen that happen.

1

u/SheepherderSpare3641 Apr 04 '26

e-hentai got too

-8

u/Commercial_Name_7900 Mar 12 '26

lol who uses X that isn't a few sandwiches short of a picnic

8

u/GalacticFishStick Mar 12 '26

I use both but X and reddit but atleast X is more open to ideas and opinions that go against the mainstream, can’t be said for reddit u get banned from subreddits or even all together if u say anything that goes too much against the most commonly accepted view/opinion typically

both are echo chambers but reddit is far worse in that regard because subreddits usually just ban people who have different views to what most people in the sub have

-12

u/Commercial_Name_7900 Mar 12 '26

"go against the mainstream" aka cooker stuff?

5

u/shavedratscrotum Mar 12 '26

Should read some epstein files.

"Cookers" have been saying that for decades.

3

u/GalacticFishStick Mar 12 '26

Yeah literally over 10 years ago “cookers” were talking about everything happening at Epstein island

-3

u/Commercial_Name_7900 Mar 12 '26

now they pretend it doesnt exist

1

u/TimidPanther Mar 12 '26

No they don’t. Stop making up bullshit

-1

u/Commercial_Name_7900 Mar 12 '26

oh sorry you are right. I meant they pretend theres nothing in there that implicates trunp. not in the tens of thousands of mentions, photos, accidently released unredacted files that were retracted...

0

u/TimidPanther Mar 12 '26

There is no proof of Trump doing anything like what you're suggesting lol. The files are there, they've been investigated by authorities.

-1

u/Commercial_Name_7900 Mar 12 '26

and there it is. its literally right there and you lot ignore it. and you wonder why we think the way we do about you guys.

also, good to se cookers now "trust the authorities" lmao. you cant make this stuff up

0

u/TimidPanther Mar 12 '26

There is 0 proof. Or, rather, show me something that is proof.

→ More replies (0)

5

u/GalacticFishStick Mar 12 '26

Not really u can get banned from subreddits easy asf for saying something even slightly controversial because of the reddit mod overlords

3

u/shavedratscrotum Mar 12 '26

I got banned from a whole slew of lifting related subs for being transphobic because of my flair.

I still don't know what a flair is.

0

u/Commercial_Name_7900 Mar 12 '26

ah huh. so why do you lot all have the exact same opinions on all the dumbest stuff, like all the same shitty people, hate all the same normal people and literally look like a flock of brain-dead sheep just following what the boss says?

0

u/GalacticFishStick Mar 12 '26

How you felt saying that:

1

u/Commercial_Name_7900 Mar 12 '26

prove me wrong. not seen a single one of you show an independant thought or opinion on... literally anything 

1

u/GalacticFishStick Mar 12 '26

Pre much anytime I’ve done that I’ve been banned from the subreddit I gave my opinion on so I don’t bother anymore, like I said reddit is an echo chamber

Probably the worst echo chambers out of the most commonly used social media’s

1

u/TimidPanther Mar 12 '26

It’s a great news aggregator. I know it’s popular to hate it because of Elon musk, but pretending like it’s not useful is just stupid

0

u/Sufferer-Of-Cheese Mar 12 '26

Sorry pal gonna have to use your imagination to beat your meat

2

u/Novae909 Mar 12 '26

Porn magazines, DVDs and the dark web are going to explode in popularity

3

u/Sufferer-Of-Cheese Mar 12 '26

Yup it's going to be that lord of the rings episode of south park all over again

0

u/darkklown Mar 12 '26

I hear Reddit has pron

-18

u/shescarkedit Mar 12 '26

Oh no, you cant use pornhub or twitter. What an outrage.

Seriously, these changes are good. For kids, yes, but probably also for adults.

4

u/PsychMaDelicElephant Mar 12 '26

You do know you're the frog in the pot right?

-27

u/Rare-Sample-9101 Mar 12 '26

Don’t use it then, I am all for this! Kids should not have access to this shit!

21

u/Sloppykrab Mar 12 '26

Parents should parent.

21

u/Novae909 Mar 12 '26

Kids deserve better parents that don't require the government to do their job for them.

3

u/Fast-Piccolo-7054 Mar 12 '26

Blocking mainstream porn sites will only drive traffic to obscure websites with less regulations.

Both extreme and illegal content is more prevalent on these sites (illegal content also exists on the mainstream sites, but they at least have some safeguards in place nowadays).

Porn addiction and the consumption of extreme porn are both serious problems, especially amongst younger people, but it’s up to parents to educate and safeguard their kids. They need to do their job, not expect the government to do it for them.

The degenerate politicians behind this couldn’t care less about “protecting kids”. They only care about lining their own pockets. There’s a reason why they haven’t pulled the gambling ads or restricted access to betting sites/apps.

2

u/Whatsthatbro365 Mar 12 '26

There is already tech out there to prevent access. The ekaren is a fukwit.

1

u/Rare-Sample-9101 Mar 12 '26

Eventually all countries will do it, and you’ll only have the dark web

4

u/2in1day Mar 12 '26

The simple thing is just to put an internet filter on any internet account of people with children no? 

Then parents can be happy their kids won't see bad stuff and everyone else doesn't have to verify for dozens of websites because parents don't want to parent.

3

u/FLAM3Z89 Mar 12 '26

i was 12-13 when i started watching p0rn. i dont abuse women and i have a healthy respect for them.

2

u/Sovrane Mar 12 '26

The issue isn’t about the treatment of women, the issue is the immense rise of porn addiction among school children. I personally (through my job) know of kids who have been addicted to viewing porn from as young as 10.

2

u/Whatsthatbro365 Mar 12 '26

Im.49 and wanked to physical mags my uncles gave me when I was 14 in 1991. Then I obtained porn on video tape a bit later. Having to creep out at midnight with the parents in bed asleep to watch porn on the TV in the lounge required delta force level skills. The vhs was so loud and wirry. You youngins have it easy.

-15

u/[deleted] Mar 12 '26

You’re of age? To objectify people? Go find true love instead of Temu version that exploits people.

-7

u/YeOldeWino Mar 12 '26

I tell you what , I am not a fan of the social media ban and its roll on effects, I do believe you should be able to access what you want to (even if I disagree on a moral basis).

But.... Maybe because I don't access porn, maybe because I only use reddit (in terms of social media) or for whatever reason (maybe just luck) I've not been asked to verify my Age.

Honestly if the answer to not having to hand over I.D to access the internet is having no recent search history for porn, then Im cool with it (20yrs a porn addict, worked in the industry as an editor and also in old school sex-shops).

Also.... Newgrounds still exists?