Italy joins UK, France with mandatory age checks on adult websites

• Italy announces age verification system for adult sites
• The measure comes into force November 12
• Google searches for VPN is on the rise

Italy has joined the UK, France and several states in the US in introducing age checks for adult content online. On Friday, the country's communications authority, AGCOM, announced that the rules will come into effect on November 12.

The system is intended to protect people's privacy and improve data security but, like in other countries that have introduced similar measures, interest in circumvention methods, like VPN apps, appears to be on the rise.

How Italy's age verification system works

According to the European Platform of Regulatory Authorities (EPRA), the Italian system "guarantees a high level of security and protects personal data" thanks to a 'double-anonymity' feature.