SYDNEY, March 10 (Reuters) - Australians have been downloading virtual private networks (VPNs) in droves, while one of the world's largest porn distributors said it was blocking users from its platforms as the country rolls out sweeping online age restrictions.
Last December, Australia became the first country to impose a nationwide ban on teenagers using social media. A separate law that went into effect on Monday requires AI-powered chatbot services to keep certain content - including pornography, extreme violence and self-harm and eating disorder material - from minors or face fines of up to A$49.5 million ($34.5 million).
The country also joined Britain, France and dozens of U.S. states requiring websites which disseminate pornography to verify users are over 18. App stores must also run age checks before allowing downloads of software labelled 18+.
The country's eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said the measures aimed to afford children the same protection online as the world expected offline.
"A child today can't walk into a bar and order a drink, they can't stroll into a strip club or browse an adult shop or sit down at a blackjack table in a casino," she told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.
"This just really brings ... those protections that we put for kids in place to the digital realm."
Australian VPN downloads across major providers nearly tripled to 28,722 on March 8, the eve of the deadline — up from about 10,000 a day on average the week before, according to the data shared by software analytics firm Apptopia.
Downloads began rising sharply on March 3 and accelerated through the week, averaging 15,244 a day in the six days leading to the deadline. Usage also climbed: total daily VPN sessions rose from an average 1.02 million in the week earlier to peak at 1.32 million on March 8.
Three of the 10 most downloaded free smartphone apps on Tuesday were VPNs, a chart published by iPhone maker Apple showed. The second-most downloaded free app was a VPN called VPN - Super Unlimited Proxy, behind only an app for tracking fuel prices, the chart showed.
VPN - Super Unlimited Proxy did not respond to a Reuters request for comment. All internet-connected devices carry an individual code which discloses their location, and VPNs hide the user's location by assigning a new code to the device.
Canada-based Aylo, owner of multiple pornography websites, meanwhile blocked Australians from accessing the platforms RedTube and YouPorn, while presenting a version of Pornhub without explicit content.
The websites carried a banner saying it was "not currently accepting new account registrations in your region".
Aylo said in an email it had "restricted access to our platforms in a number of locations, including the UK, France, and a number of US states, due to ineffective and haphazard age verification laws".
Tom Sulston, deputy chair of advocacy group Digital Rights Watch, said it was unsurprising people were reaching for VPNs.
"My hope is that, not only will they discover that this works for looking at spicier internet sites, but that it's just generally a good idea to use VPNs when you're traversing the internet, because they do offer you some privacy protections."
($1 = 1.4351 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Byron Kaye; Editing by Stephen Coates and Edwina Gibbs)
