The UK will shortly implement a part of the Digital Economy Act 2017 that requires some websites to verify the ages of its users. This age-verification requirement has been widely referred to as the “porn block”, and is finally set to come into force on 15th July this year.
A ‘child protection’ measure that has met with controversy
The looming implementation of the “porn block” represents the culmination of the UK Government’s promise since 2015 to introduce an age-verification requirement for online pornography websites to minimise the risk of children coming to harm online.
This policy arose largely due to suggestions that young people were too easily able to access inappropriate online content. However, it has also been met with considerable criticism, as well as concerns about how the policy will work in practice.
What form will the new requirement take?
Online commercial pornography services available in the UK will be required in accordance with the Digital Economy Act 2017 to undertake age-verification checks to prevent individuals under 18 years of age from being able to access adult content.
The decision to put such a law in place was heavily based on an NSPCC report that claimed more than half of children and teenagers had mistakenly accessed pornographic content online. Opinion has been divided, however, by the methods that such websites will be expected to use to verify their visitors’ ages.
MindGeek, the Canadian company that owns a number of the world’s most visited pornographic websites including Pornhub, has created software called AgeID. This platform will require a user to create an account and then provide their passport, credit card or driving licence details or their phone number and verify through SMS.
Concerns about the potential risk to privacy
Although technology like AgeID would indeed help to prevent under-18s from seeing adult content online, fears have been raised that hackers may target the database in which users’ information is stored – bringing back memories of the 2015 Ashley Madison scandal that affected approximately 33 million people.
Even this number is far lower than the 64 million daily visitors recorded for Pornhub in 2017, with UK users representing the second largest driver of this traffic.
The Government has sought to address such objections by stating that the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) – which will be responsible for policing the system – has devised a strategy to demonstrate the safety of such verification websites, as a result of working with a number of prominent cybersecurity specialists and the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
Will the proposed measures even work as intended?
In addition to these criticisms, some observers have suggested that the “porn block” may simply fail to have the effect desired in denying under-18s access to adult content online.
Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), for instance, mask a user’s location by routing their Internet traffic through a different country, so would therefore be a way for Britons to circumvent the block, which only applies in the UK.
Secondly, as the block also only applies to commercial porn sites, other websites that contain adult content – such as Reddit and Twitter – will be unaffected. Such factors will enable those wishing to access online porn to continue doing so relatively easily, even after the new age-verification requirement takes effect.
Enquire to London Registrars today for expert help and advice
London Registrars provides wide-ranging company compliance services to enable firms like yours to remain on the right side of ever-evolving legislation.
If the upcoming “porn block” is an issue that may impact on your own business, please call our team on 020 7608 0011 for further advice and guidance.
May 2019.