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.
