Pornhub announced it would restrict access to its website for users in the United Kingdom starting February 2, blaming the tougher age verification requirements introduced by the UK's Online Safety Act (OSA), according to BBC Technology. Aylo, Pornhub's parent company, stated that the OSA updates "had not achieved its goal of protecting minors" and had "diverted traffic to darker, unregulated corners of the internet."
The move comes after Aylo reported a 77% drop in traffic from the UK following the implementation of the law change in October, BBC Technology reported. The OSA requires explicit sites to implement age verification measures. Ofcom, the UK's regulator, stated that the tougher age checks were fulfilling their intended purpose.
In other technology news, TikTok US denied claims that it is censoring content after users reported glitches with the video streaming platform, according to BBC Technology. A spokesperson for TikTok US reiterated an earlier statement, pointing to technical issues as the reason for the problems since it became a separate American entity last week. "We've made significant progress in recovering our US infrastructure with our US data center partner," the spokesperson said, adding that "the US user experience may still have some technical issues, including when posting new content."
Additionally, TikTok reached a settlement just hours before a landmark social media addiction trial was set to begin in California, BBC Technology reported. The plaintiff, a 20-year-old woman identified as KGM, alleged that the design of the platforms' algorithms left her addicted to social media and negatively affected her mental health. "The parties are pleased to have reached an amicable resolution of this dispute," the Social Media Victims Law Center said of the TikTok settlement, adding that the terms were confidential. The defendants now include Meta, which owns Instagram and Facebook, and YouTube parent company Alphabet.
Meanwhile, in South Sudan, the army announced a major military operation against opposition forces, raising fears for civilian safety, according to Al Jazeera. Army spokesman Lul Ruai Koang said "Operation Enduring Peace" would commence and ordered civilians to evacuate three counties in Jonglei state immediately. He also directed aid groups to leave within 48 hours. The South Sudanese army's announcement followed territorial losses in recent weeks.
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