In September 2022, eSafety carried out mixed methods research into young people’s attitudes towards online pornography and age assurance. A key aim of the project was to explore young people's lived experiences with online pornography. The research was conducted from 19 to 21 September 2022 by means of a survey of 1,004 young people aged 16–18 and six focus groups with a total of 32 young people aged 16–18. It is part of a larger project in response to the Australian Government's request to eSafety to develop a roadmap for age verification and complementary measures to prevent and mitigate potential harms to children from online pornography (the Age Verification Roadmap).

This is the second of two reports in eSafety’s Young People and Pornography research series. The first report, which examined the prevalence of young people’s encounters with pornography, their perspectives on it and their support needs around it, is available here.

This report contributes to the evidence base on young people’s attitudes towards the age-based restriction of access to online pornography and age assurance, including but not limited to age assurance tools. It starts by examining young people’s perspectives on the age-based restriction of access to online pornography. It then explores their views on age assurance approaches.