Tech & IT

Age Verification on Adult Sites: Why It Doesn’t Work

This week in Texas, new regulations will demand age verification for visitors on adult websites. Although such laws aim to prevent minors from accessing inappropriate content, they may inadvertently generate larger problems.

Age Verification in Practice
Texas becomes the seventh state to tackle this age verification issue. The upcoming HB 1181 stipulates that platforms with explicit content must utilize “reasonable age-verification methods”. These can range from photos of government IDs to using transactional data to ascertain age. The legislation targets platforms where over a third of the content is considered harmful for minors.

However, privacy concerns arise when such verification methods are employed. Storing personal identification information can create a lucrative target for cyberattacks. As seen in the U.K., even when third-party age verification systems are considered, issues emerge. The U.K.’s Open Rights Group has voiced concerns over certain systems that employ facial recognition, pointing out potential risks of collecting children’s biometric data without proper governance.

Australia’s Cautionary Approach
Australia has recently stepped back from implementing similar laws. While they had considered a trial of age-verification technology utilizing electronic tokens, they decided that the infrastructure for such systems required further refinement.

The Challenges of Regulation
Despite any potential verification method, both adults and minors might still find ways to access adult content without identification. Major adult websites might abide by regional laws, but numerous other platforms, especially those based in countries like Russia and China, may not. Moreover, VPNs, which can disguise a user’s actual location, further complicate regional regulations.

The U.K.’s attempt at network-level filters, proposed in 2012, was flawed. These filters failed to restrict certain explicit content while also blocking benign sites. The BCS (Chartered Institute for IT in the U.K.) suggests that governments should be cautious about solely relying on technology to address the issue. They believe the focus should be on educating the young and their guardians about online risks and mitigation, rather than purely on prevention through technology.

Latest News

Grok “Nudify” Backlash: Regulators Move In as X Adds Guardrails

Update (January 2026): EU regulators have opened a formal inquiry into Grok/X under the Digital Services Act, Malaysia temporarily blocked Grok and later lifted the restriction after X introduced safety measures, and California’s Attorney General announced an investigation; researchers say new guardrails reduced—but did not fully eliminate—nudification-style outputs.

What this is about

The passage describes the Grok “nudify” controversy that erupted in late December 2025 and carried into January 2026. Grok, X’s built-in AI chatbot, could be prompted to create sexualized edits of real people’s photos—such as replacing clothing with a transparent or minimal bikini look, or generating “glossed” and semi-nude effects—often without the person’s consent.

Why did it become a major problem on X

The key difference from fringe “nudify apps” or underground open-source tools is distribution. Because Grok is integrated into X, users could generate these images quickly and post them directly in replies to the target (for example, “@grok put her in a bikini”), turning image generation into a harassment mechanic at scale through notifications, quote-posts, and resharing.

What researchers and watchdogs flagged

The text claims that once the behavior was discovered, requests for undressing-style generations surged. It also alleges that some users attempted to generate sexualized images of minors, raising concerns about virtual child sexual abuse material and related illegal content—especially serious given X’s global footprint and differing international legal standards.

The policy and legal angle the article is making

X’s own rules prohibit nonconsensual intimate imagery and child sexual exploitation content, including AI-generated forms.
In the U.S., the article argues the First Amendment complicates attempts to regulate purely synthetic imagery, while CSAM involving real children is broadly illegal.
The TAKE IT DOWN Act is discussed as a notice-and-takedown style remedy that can remove reported NCII, but does not automatically prevent the same input image from being reused to generate new variants.

How X/xAI responded (as described)

The piece contrasts Musk’s public “free speech” framing with the fact that platforms still have discretion—and in many places, legal obligations—to moderate harmful content. It says X eventually introduced guardrails and moved Grok image generation behind a paid tier, but some users reported they could still produce problematic outputs.

If you paste the exact excerpt/source you’re using (or tell me the outlet), I can rewrite it in a cleaner, tighter “news brief” style while keeping the meaning and key dates.

Tech & IT

Honey Play Box Showcases Creator-Focused Innovation at 2026 AVN Expo

Honey Play Box happily attended the 2026 AVN Expo (AVN), held January 21–23 at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas, connecting with thousands of industry professionals at one of the adult industry’s most anticipated events.

Throughout the exhibition, Honey Play Box focused on building meaningful relationships with
models, cam creators, and emerging talent, with a great interest in its strategic partner, VibeConnect. Designed specifically for cam models, Vibe-Connect is a free interactive streaming platform that links Honey Play Box toys to live animations and audience-driven reactions, turning standard cam shows into immersive, gamified performances that keep fans hooked and Cam models making money.

Creators showed enthusiasm over Vibe-Connect’s new Wishlist feature, which allows fans to
gift products directly to their favorite models while enabling creators to earn an additional
percentage on every item received, unlocking new revenue streams beyond traditional tokens
and memberships.

Honey Play Box also showed its support to both new and experienced creators by giving away
innovative products designed for live streaming.

“Honey Play Box [gave] content creators toys you can use for live streams. Fans can control
your toys and other creators can connect with each other…wherever you are in the world!” said
Cam Model Trinity

Honey Play Box

Tech & IT

Italy (AGCOM): Mandatory age checks on adult sites start Nov 12

Italy’s communications regulator, AGCOM, will enforce mandatory age verification for pornography websites starting November 12, 2025. The system is designed to block access by minors and relies on certified third parties (such as banks or mobile operators) to confirm whether a visitor is 18+. After verification, the third party issues an access code that lets the user proceed to the site.

AGCOM describes a “double anonymity” model: adult sites receive only an “of-age” confirmation and never the user’s identity, while verifiers do not see which website the person is trying to access. According to the rules, the check is required on every visit, not just once.

An initial enforcement list covers around 50 services, including major platforms that host or distribute pornographic content in Italy. Sites found non-compliant can face penalties of up to €250,000.

What changes in practice

Start date: November 12, 2025.
Who verifies: Certified third parties that already hold user identity data.
What sites see: Only that a user is of age, not who they are.
Frequency: Verification is required each time a covered site is accessed.
Enforcement: Fines up to €250,000 for failures to comply.

Italy’s move aligns with broader European efforts to implement age-assurance on adult content. Platforms operating in the country are expected to finalize integrations with certified providers and update user flows to meet the deadline, while users should anticipate an extra verification step before entering affected sites.