UK starts age checks on porn sites
AGE verification tools required on porn sites to prevent underage internet users seeing explicit content will be introduced in Britain in July.
The measures, the first of their kind in the world, will by law require sites to carry out ‘robust age-verification checks on users’, the UK government has said.
Websites which fail to implement the new rules – which will come into force on July 15 – face having payment services withdrawn or being blocked for UK internet users.
The government said users will be able to verify their age in a number of ways, including using traditional forms of ID such as a credit card or passport, or by buying an over-the-counter card from shops where verification would take place face-to-face.
Digital minister Margot James said: ‘Adult content is currently far too easy for children to access online.
‘The introduction of mandatory ageverification is a world first and we’ve taken the time to balance privacy concerns with the need to protect children from inappropriate content.
‘We want the UK to be the safest place in the world to be online and these new laws will help us achieve this.’
Dublin cyber-psychologist Professor Mary Aiken last night welcomed the new laws. She told the Irish Daily Mail: ‘I am delighted to see the UK stepping up as one of the first countries in the world to introduce this form of verification system for accessing online pornography.
‘I am proud to have been invited to brief the UK Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) a number of times on the subject of child protection and online harm – I sincerely hope that Ireland follows closely behind in terms of affording Irish children the same level of protection regarding online harms.’
The UK government confirmed that the British Board of Film Classification will be the age verification regulator.
Its chief executive David Austin said: ‘The introduction of age verification to restrict access to commercial pornographic websites to adults is a groundbreaking child protection measure.
‘Age verification will help prevent children from accessing pornographic content online and means that the UK is leading the way in internet safety.’