Hey folks, Nuked here! Today, let’s dive into a juicy story about how new UK laws are shaking up the internet. It’s a tale of compliance, traffic, and a bit of chaos.

Recently, the UK began enforcing the Online Safety Act’s age verification rules. This means websites, especially those with adult content, must verify their visitors’ ages using methods like face scans or driver’s licenses. Platforms like Reddit and Bluesky have also started checking user ages to stay within legal bounds. The goal? Keep children away from mature content.

But here’s the twist: a report from The Washington Post shows these measures are having unexpected effects. They analyzed the top 90 adult sites based on UK visitor data and discovered that 14 of these sites still don’t do age checks. Interestingly, these non-compliant sites have seen a spike in traffic, some even doubling their visitors compared to last year. Meanwhile, many sites that do comply are facing traffic drops or are trying to bypass the rules by linking petitions or providing workarounds.

Expert John Scott-Railton from the University of Toronto points out that this is a classic case of unintended consequences. Instead of reducing access, the law seemingly pushes users toward sites without proper age checks, undermining its purpose and creating a digital wild west scenario.