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   Italy joins UK, France with mandatory age checks on adult websites   
      
   Date:   
   Mon, 03 Nov 2025 19:12:25 +0000   
      
   Description:   
   Age verification will be introduced on November 12   
      
   FULL STORY   
      
   Italy has joined the UK, France and several states in the US in introducing   
   age checks for adult content online. On Friday, the country's communications   
   authority, AGCOM, announced that the rules will come into effect on November   
   12.    
      
   The system is intended to protect people's privacy and improve data security   
   but, like in other countries that have introduced similar measures, interest   
   in circumvention methods, like VPN apps , appears to be on the rise.   
      
   How Italy's age verification system works   
      
   According to the European Platform of Regulatory Authorities (EPRA), the   
   Italian system "guarantees a high level of security and protects personal   
   data" thanks to a 'double-anonymity' feature.    
      
   This feature means the verification process is split in half: a certified   
   third party verifies someone's identity and generates a secure token that is   
   then presented to the adult website. Importantly, the third party doesn't    
   know what content is being accessed and the website learns nothing about the   
   individual.    
      
   If successful, the system would be a definite improvement  over some others   
   recently introduced. However, consolidating people's information in one   
   third-party system   even if it's separate from the destination website     
   still creates a high-value target.    
      
   What's more, because the process has to be repeated each time someone wants    
   to access the website, the potential for data insecurity increases.   
      
   Which sites are affected?   
      
   When the system comes into force, it will affect around 50 websites that    
   AGCOM has already listed. However, that's likely to increase and soon it may   
   extend beyond adult websites  as EPRA indicates, the age verification's    
   "scope may be extended in the future to include other services unsuitable for   
   minors."    
      
   As has been the case in the UK, expanding the remit of age verification   
   measures can attract severe criticism and it seems some people may already be   
   on the lookout for ways around the restrictions.   
      
   What do people think?    
      
   Despite the privacy and security assurances, it seems like some people in   
   Italy are already planning on ways to bypass the checks.    
      
   According to Google Search Trends , interest in VPNs has significantly risen   
   in the past week and searches for 'November 12'  the date the new    
   restrictions are set to come into force  have seen a 140% increase.    
      
   The concern, as is often the case with age verification systems, is that   
   people will turn to insecure VPN apps and other shady platforms in the hope    
   of keeping their data secure, while actually putting it at risk.    
      
   ======================================================================   
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.techradar.com/vpn/vpn-privacy-security/italy-joins-uk-france-with-   
   mandatory-age-checks-on-adult-websites   
      
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