The War on Porn Regular Updates about the Assault on The Adult Industry
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Something quietly important happened this week—one of those moments that doesn’t scream for attention but might change how a lot of people experience the internet going forward. The Free Speech Coalition threw its support behind the OpenAge Initiative and its flagship technology, AgeKey, calling it a rare attempt to meet age-assurance rules without turning privacy into collateral damage.
FSC is a nonprofit that advocates for the adult entertainment industry, a corner of the internet that sees hundreds of billions of visits every year and tends to feel regulatory pressure before almost anyone else does.
“We believe that device-based solutions are more effective than fragmented platform or site-specific approaches,” said Alison Boden, executive director of the Free Speech Coalition. “OpenAge and AgeKey offer a practical bridge between these models, allowing users to store a verified age result locally on the device and reuse it across multiple platforms without repeated verification or resubmission of sensitive data.”
She added, “This approach holds the promise of reduced friction and privacy risks that have undermined compliance with age-verification mandates, and provides a path that is affordable for large platforms, independent creators, and small businesses alike.”
At its core, AgeKey is a reusable, FIDO2 passkey-based age credential. It lets someone prove they meet an age requirement without ever handing over who they are—no names, no identity trail, no awkward oversharing just to get through a digital door.
Because it’s natively supported by major devices, operating systems, and browsers, AgeKey doesn’t ask users to download an app, register an account, or jump through extra hoops. Verifications can happen up to 95 percent faster than traditional age checks. And thanks to a double-blind architecture, neither the service provider nor the AgeKey issuer knows who the user is—or where they’re going online.
The OpenAge Initiative itself is focused on building something bigger than a single tool: an interoperable, cross-industry, cross-platform framework for age assurance. Any platform or certified verification provider can adopt AgeKey and participate. Sites still decide which methods, providers, and recency rules they accept, while AgeKeys remain optional and free for users.
“OpenAge believes deeply in interoperability and reusability when it comes to age assurance and users’ own data,” said Julian Corbett, head of OpenAge. “Our mandate is to think first and foremost about what users’ needs and rights should be. This includes the right of children to receive age-appropriate experiences and protections from harmful content, and the right of adults to privacy and frictionless access online.”
For anyone watching the slow collision between regulation, privacy, and real-world usability, this is one of those developments worth sitting with for a moment. Not flashy. Just quietly ambitious.
