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UK age verification porn checks expected to be in place by April

by Mark Tyson on 14 January 2019, 11:11

Tags: UK Government

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Last March HEXUS reported upon the delayed implementation of the UK government's compulsory age verification system, targeting visitors to pornographic web sites and so on. Last week the Digital Economy Act (2017) and online pornography regulations were passed, but the government has promised a minimum of three months for the industry and the public to prepare, thus the rules are expected to come into force from around April.

Sky News reports that it is, even now, still not clear how the age verifications will be done. It sounds like there could be multiple ways to get your 'porn license' - online by handing over various identification details, providing banking details on porn sites, installing some software on your mobile or computer, or going to a store to prove your age and get an access code.

All of the above ways to get access to online porn seem to leave an identification trail with potential impacts on a person's financial security, personal privacy, and could put some people at risk of blackmail. It is noted that during 2017 there were roughly 160 attempts a day to access blocked pornographic websites within Parliament. If these access records were tied to certain users thanks to access codes or other ID links, think of the consequences…

AgeID: One of the already existing commercial age verification systems.

The regulator for the age verification measures is the British Board of Film Classification. It can require ISPs to block non-compliant sites and impose fines upon those that breach rules up to the sum of £250,000. Sites with over a third of their content falling in the 'porn' category must sign up to age verification in the UK. A legal consultant told Sky that the new legislation permits 'overblocking' - blocking more material than the offending material. This kind of action might be inconsistent with human rights laws.

Companies that offer VPN services look set to make hay from the UK government's move as and when ID checks are implemented.



HEXUS Forums :: 31 Comments

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I'd be very surprised if porn sites who implement this were in the majority. I'd expect them to be far in the minority if they do implement.

And then they'll be circumvented by VPNs, the VPN business seems to be a good one to be in right now!
Just use TOR and you don't even need to bother with a VPN as it will just show you coming from a different country anyway
Tabbykatze
I'd be very surprised if porn sites who implement this were in the majority. I'd expect them to be far in the minority if they do implement.

If they don't they'll probably find themselves on the Great British firewall list.
Jonj1611
Just use TOR and you don't even need to bother with a VPN as it will just show you coming from a different country anyway

Yep. It's free and works on phones so you can still watch in public.

3 months to give the public time to prepare

3 months to buy as many spinning platters as you can and download a lifetime of “content”.
Oh how I love the way the government is removing the need for parents to be parents and stop their own children accessing things they don't want them to see…. yes I know it's a crazy view for parent to actually look after their own children these days but but there are plenty of tools built into most OS's which are there to protect children.