Government drops plans for age checks on porn websites

PLANS to force pornographic websites to use age checks have been shelved by the Government, the Culture Secretary has announced.

Nicky Morgan said the initiative, which had been due to come into force in August, was being delayed indefinitely and would now form part of the forthcoming online harms legislation.

However, she hinted that a future regime could close a loophole that allowed social media companies exemption from age checks even if they hosted pornographic material.

The move also means that a future age-verification regime could eventually be enforced by a new online regulator, which is expected to have more stringent sanctions than the previous planned scheme.

News of the delay prompted anger from children’s charities, who said the measure would mean that children would continue to be exposed to graphic and explicit content online.

In a written statement, Mrs Morgan said: “This course of action will give the regulator discretion on the most effective means for companies to meet their duty of care. As currently drafted, the Digital Economy Act does not cover social media platforms.

“We want to deliver the most comprehensive approach to keeping children safe online.”

The original age-verification scheme would have seen porn websites forced to adopt software to block access until visitors proved they are over 18.

The online harms Bill will be published next year and is expected to create a statutory duty of care on tech companies to protect users.

John Carr, secretary of the Coalition of Children’s Charities for Internet Safety, said: “It could be two or three years before anything comes out. Meanwhile, six- and seven-year-olds are seeing hardcore pornography.”