As porn sites apply new age checks, will users hand over personal ID? - New Ofcom rules "foundation" for safer internet but "not end of the conversation" says Heidi Alexander. Proposals under consideration include a two-hour cap on the use of individual social media apps, and a 22:00 curfew.
From Friday, websites operating in the UK with pornographic content must "robustly" age-check users. Adults wanting to access explicit material should experience a significant change in how they use the internet - while websites that ignore the new laws could be fined up to £18m, or 10% of worldwide revenue. Ofcom, which estimates about 14 million people watch online pornography in the UK, says tougher age checks will make it harder for children to stumble across harmful material online. But are the new rules set out in the Online Safety Act watertight, or will people be able to find ways around them? Which sites will check your age?
What are the rules?
Ofcom, the media regulator, has set out a number of ways websites can verify the age of users, external, including through credit card checks, photo ID matching and estimating age using a selfie. It says thousands of sites have committed to age checks. Whatever format platforms choose, they must be "technically accurate, robust, reliable and fair". The 7 methods adult websites could use for checking age. Some sites that host sexually explicit content have already committed to introducing age checks. But Ofcom says they must also take action over methods people might use to get around checks.
What about VPNs?
When BBC News wrote about the seven methods of age verification adult websites may use in the UK and the companies who may be employed to do it, one reader comment resonated with many others. "Sure, I will give out my sensitive information to some random, unproven company or... I will use a VPN," they said. "Difficult choice." A virtual private network (VPN) is a legal way to securely connect one device to another using the internet. They have a variety of uses, but one is getting around anything blocked because of your location. According to Ofcom, platforms must not host, share or permit content encouraging use of VPNs to get around age checks. The government told the BBC under the Online Safety Act, it will be illegal for platforms to do this.
The regulator said parents should be aware children using a VPN to access the internet "would not be able to benefit from the protections of the Online Safety Act". Concerned parents, it said, should block or control VPN usage. But Katie Freeman-Tayler from children's safety group Internet Matters said she believed it was "likely" more people would use the tech as the new rules come in. "VPN use is only likely to increase when measures come into force later this week," she said. A spokesperson from Aylo - the parent company of Pornhub - said the question of VPNs was an issue for governments. "We certainly do not recommend that anyone uses technology to bypass the law," they said.
How robust are the age checks?
Some of the ways Ofcom suggests platforms can check ages prompt questions, but Chelsea Jarvie, a cyber security expert, said the methods "are effective at proving someone's age and include controls to prevent circumvention". "However, like all technology controls, determined users will try to find ways around them and we may see users turning to more anonymous methods to access online content," she said. There is an additional problem - trust among internet users amid high-profile cyber attacks. "Many remain cautious about handing over personal identity information in order to prove their age," she said. Age verification companies insist their systems are robust and will prevent people from getting around their tools. "It is possible that an adult could complete an age check on behalf of a child if they were passed a device," added Andy Lulham from Verifymy. "This would be comparable to an adult going into a shop and buying a pornographic magazine on behalf of a child, and would be extremely irresponsible."
Which sites will require age verification?
All sites and apps allowing pornography in the UK will be required to have "highly effective" methods to check the age of users by 25 July. Pornhub and a number of other major adult websites have confirmed they will introduce enhanced age checks, while Reddit has already introduced age verification to stop people aged under 18 from looking at "certain mature content". Ofcom said X and Grindr have committed to age checks. X says it is planning to introduce, external facial age estimation using its own artificial intelligence (AI) technology. Discord gives UK users a choice of face or ID scanning as a way to verify their age, after testing methods, and Bluesky says it will give UK users a range of different verification options, external. Many more services which allow sexually explicit material may need to bring in measures to comply with the new rules.
What do people who watch porn think?
Tom, who is in his 20s, says he has been watching porn since he was a teenager and is worried about sharing personal data to access porn sites. "It's not a question of if something will leak, but when," he told the BBC. He is concerned about how a leak of personal data could affect users, including those whose viewing habits could reveal their sexuality if they have not come out to friends and family. Age verification companies told the BBC people should be reassured because firms don't retain data. Shea, who is in his 20s and watches porn daily, is also concerned. "Please upload a face scan of your ID and passport? No thank you," he said. He believes the need to prove your age will be off-putting to many people who want to access content quickly with few hurdles. Instead, he thinks some will turn elsewhere in the hunt for adult content. "It's just pushing people into the fringe of the extremes," he said. "It's not stopping you from watching porn."
More rules being considered to keep children safe online
The government is considering further action to keep children safe online and will not "sit back and wait" on the issue, a cabinet minister has said. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander told the BBC new age-verification rules beginning later this month would have a "really important" impact. She said the regulations, to be overseen by media regulator Ofcom, would not be the "end of the conversation" on online safety. Ofcom boss Melanie Dawes vowed to rigorously enforce the new requirements, adding the regulator "means business". But she acknowledged Ofcom may require further legal powers in order to keep pace with the rapidly developing impact of artificial intelligence (AI).
Under new powers introduced by the Online Safety Act and passed under the previous Tory government, Ofcom will require internet companies to conduct stricter age verification methods to check whether a user is under 18. A new code of practice, to apply from 25 July, will also require platforms to change algorithms affecting what is shown in children's feeds to filter out harmful content. At the last election, Labour committed to "build on" the previous government's law and consider further measures to keep children safe. But it is yet to publish fresh legislation of its own, with ministers arguing the existing set of new regulations need to be rolled out first. Speaking to Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Ian Russell, whose daughter Molly took her own life at 14 after seeing harmful content online, said the new rules should mark the "biggest moment in online safety" since the arrival of social media. But he added the "proof of the pudding is in what happens," adding he thought Ofcom could go further than it has done within the legal powers it has acquired. He also argued that the regulator should be prepared to "push back" against ministers over "weaknesses" in the legislation.
'Addictive Habits'
Alexander said the new rules would bring in "really robust safeguards" to ensure proper age verification. But she added: "We are very clear as a government that this is the foundation for a safer online experience for children, but it is not the end of the conversation". She said Technology Secretary Peter Kyle was looking at further action in a number of areas, including how to address "addictive habits" among children. "We're not going to be a government that sits back and waits on this, we want to address it," she added. She did not provide further details, but Kyle has previously indicated he wants to curb the "addictive nature" of apps and smartphones for children. Proposals under consideration include a two-hour cap on the use of individual social media apps, and a 22:00 curfew.
Phone ban calls
Alexander added that the education secretary was reviewing guidance in England that allows individual headteachers to ban smartphones in schools. The government has so far stopped short of legislating for a nationwide ban, voting down a Tory attempt to do so in March. The transport secretary added that it was important to "get the balance right" on the issue, noting that some parents "want their kids to have a phone on their way to school". Shadow minister Chris Philp said he wished the previous Tory government had legislated to ban smartphones in schools during its 14 years in power. He told Kuenssberg it was a "great shame" Labour had not backed a ban, adding: "As a dad myself, I am really concerned about this". Ofcom's chief executive told the programme the new rules would mean tech platforms would have to change their content algorithms "very significantly". Ms Dawes said the regulator would give websites some flexibility when deciding which age-verification tools to use, but pledged that those failing to put adequate checks in place "will hear from us with enforcement action". However, she acknowledged some newer forms of AI "may not" be covered be powers contained in the existing legislation. "There may need to be some changes to the legislation to cover that," she added.
Welp now in the UK if you want to visit a porn site you have to provide a PERSONAL ID OR A FACECAM.
Have fun.
This is the great violation people warned for decades.
Sooner or later they will have the entire Internet subject to the Noahide Laws, and the only thing stopping this from being unleashed all over the world is because the US of A still has an ostensibly functioning constitution and a Clown sitting in the office.
Porn is for our demise, served by the Jews to take you out. I don't watch porn and neither should anyone, or youre playing into their hands. Doesn't matter of you share your info to prove your age, you are still destroying your mind with porn, no matter what age you are.
They hate you watching porn, they even more so hate you for drawing or consuming suggestive content of fictional characters.
They only want you to submit under The One God and the One World Order of their God. The civilization and religions of gentiles will obliterated as they take your children to be raped in their underage harems.
If they promote porn sites, it's a reverse psychology ploy to turn people back from the frying pan into the fire that is the Jewish One world Religion.
Also it's not just porn, even Legitimate horror games are being hidden or destroyed. Regardless of context.
As porn sites apply new age checks, will users hand over personal ID? - New Ofcom rules "foundation" for safer internet but "not end of the conversation" says Heidi Alexander. Proposals under consideration include a two-hour cap on the use of individual social media apps, and a 22:00 curfew.
From Friday, websites operating in the UK with pornographic content must "robustly" age-check users. Adults wanting to access explicit material should experience a significant change in how they use the internet - while websites that ignore the new laws could be fined up to £18m, or 10% of worldwide revenue. Ofcom, which estimates about 14 million people watch online pornography in the UK, says tougher age checks will make it harder for children to stumble across harmful material online. But are the new rules set out in the Online Safety Act watertight, or will people be able to find ways around them? Which sites will check your age?
What are the rules? Ofcom, the media regulator, has set out a number of ways websites can verify the age of users, external, including through credit card checks, photo ID matching and estimating age using a selfie. It says thousands of sites have committed to age checks. Whatever format platforms choose, they must be "technically accurate, robust, reliable and fair". The 7 methods adult websites could use for checking age. Some sites that host sexually explicit content have already committed to introducing age checks. But Ofcom says they must also take action over methods people might use to get around checks.
What about VPNs? When BBC News wrote about the seven methods of age verification adult websites may use in the UK and the companies who may be employed to do it, one reader comment resonated with many others. "Sure, I will give out my sensitive information to some random, unproven company or... I will use a VPN," they said. "Difficult choice." A virtual private network (VPN) is a legal way to securely connect one device to another using the internet. They have a variety of uses, but one is getting around anything blocked because of your location. According to Ofcom, platforms must not host, share or permit content encouraging use of VPNs to get around age checks. The government told the BBC under the Online Safety Act, it will be illegal for platforms to do this.
The regulator said parents should be aware children using a VPN to access the internet "would not be able to benefit from the protections of the Online Safety Act". Concerned parents, it said, should block or control VPN usage. But Katie Freeman-Tayler from children's safety group Internet Matters said she believed it was "likely" more people would use the tech as the new rules come in. "VPN use is only likely to increase when measures come into force later this week," she said. A spokesperson from Aylo - the parent company of Pornhub - said the question of VPNs was an issue for governments. "We certainly do not recommend that anyone uses technology to bypass the law," they said.
How robust are the age checks? Some of the ways Ofcom suggests platforms can check ages prompt questions, but Chelsea Jarvie, a cyber security expert, said the methods "are effective at proving someone's age and include controls to prevent circumvention". "However, like all technology controls, determined users will try to find ways around them and we may see users turning to more anonymous methods to access online content," she said. There is an additional problem - trust among internet users amid high-profile cyber attacks. "Many remain cautious about handing over personal identity information in order to prove their age," she said. Age verification companies insist their systems are robust and will prevent people from getting around their tools. "It is possible that an adult could complete an age check on behalf of a child if they were passed a device," added Andy Lulham from Verifymy. "This would be comparable to an adult going into a shop and buying a pornographic magazine on behalf of a child, and would be extremely irresponsible."
Which sites will require age verification? All sites and apps allowing pornography in the UK will be required to have "highly effective" methods to check the age of users by 25 July. Pornhub and a number of other major adult websites have confirmed they will introduce enhanced age checks, while Reddit has already introduced age verification to stop people aged under 18 from looking at "certain mature content". Ofcom said X and Grindr have committed to age checks. X says it is planning to introduce, external facial age estimation using its own artificial intelligence (AI) technology. Discord gives UK users a choice of face or ID scanning as a way to verify their age, after testing methods, and Bluesky says it will give UK users a range of different verification options, external. Many more services which allow sexually explicit material may need to bring in measures to comply with the new rules.
What do people who watch porn think? Tom, who is in his 20s, says he has been watching porn since he was a teenager and is worried about sharing personal data to access porn sites. "It's not a question of if something will leak, but when," he told the BBC. He is concerned about how a leak of personal data could affect users, including those whose viewing habits could reveal their sexuality if they have not come out to friends and family. Age verification companies told the BBC people should be reassured because firms don't retain data. Shea, who is in his 20s and watches porn daily, is also concerned. "Please upload a face scan of your ID and passport? No thank you," he said. He believes the need to prove your age will be off-putting to many people who want to access content quickly with few hurdles. Instead, he thinks some will turn elsewhere in the hunt for adult content. "It's just pushing people into the fringe of the extremes," he said. "It's not stopping you from watching porn."
More rules being considered to keep children safe online
The government is considering further action to keep children safe online and will not "sit back and wait" on the issue, a cabinet minister has said. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander told the BBC new age-verification rules beginning later this month would have a "really important" impact. She said the regulations, to be overseen by media regulator Ofcom, would not be the "end of the conversation" on online safety. Ofcom boss Melanie Dawes vowed to rigorously enforce the new requirements, adding the regulator "means business". But she acknowledged Ofcom may require further legal powers in order to keep pace with the rapidly developing impact of artificial intelligence (AI).
Under new powers introduced by the Online Safety Act and passed under the previous Tory government, Ofcom will require internet companies to conduct stricter age verification methods to check whether a user is under 18. A new code of practice, to apply from 25 July, will also require platforms to change algorithms affecting what is shown in children's feeds to filter out harmful content. At the last election, Labour committed to "build on" the previous government's law and consider further measures to keep children safe. But it is yet to publish fresh legislation of its own, with ministers arguing the existing set of new regulations need to be rolled out first. Speaking to Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Ian Russell, whose daughter Molly took her own life at 14 after seeing harmful content online, said the new rules should mark the "biggest moment in online safety" since the arrival of social media. But he added the "proof of the pudding is in what happens," adding he thought Ofcom could go further than it has done within the legal powers it has acquired. He also argued that the regulator should be prepared to "push back" against ministers over "weaknesses" in the legislation.
'Addictive Habits' Alexander said the new rules would bring in "really robust safeguards" to ensure proper age verification. But she added: "We are very clear as a government that this is the foundation for a safer online experience for children, but it is not the end of the conversation". She said Technology Secretary Peter Kyle was looking at further action in a number of areas, including how to address "addictive habits" among children. "We're not going to be a government that sits back and waits on this, we want to address it," she added. She did not provide further details, but Kyle has previously indicated he wants to curb the "addictive nature" of apps and smartphones for children. Proposals under consideration include a two-hour cap on the use of individual social media apps, and a 22:00 curfew.
Phone ban calls Alexander added that the education secretary was reviewing guidance in England that allows individual headteachers to ban smartphones in schools. The government has so far stopped short of legislating for a nationwide ban, voting down a Tory attempt to do so in March. The transport secretary added that it was important to "get the balance right" on the issue, noting that some parents "want their kids to have a phone on their way to school". Shadow minister Chris Philp said he wished the previous Tory government had legislated to ban smartphones in schools during its 14 years in power. He told Kuenssberg it was a "great shame" Labour had not backed a ban, adding: "As a dad myself, I am really concerned about this". Ofcom's chief executive told the programme the new rules would mean tech platforms would have to change their content algorithms "very significantly". Ms Dawes said the regulator would give websites some flexibility when deciding which age-verification tools to use, but pledged that those failing to put adequate checks in place "will hear from us with enforcement action". However, she acknowledged some newer forms of AI "may not" be covered be powers contained in the existing legislation. "There may need to be some changes to the legislation to cover that," she added.
Welp now in the UK if you want to visit a porn site you have to provide a PERSONAL ID OR A FACECAM.
Have fun.
This is the great violation people warned for decades.
Sooner or later they will have the entire Internet subject to the Noahide Laws, and the only thing stopping this from being unleashed all over the world is because the US of A still has an ostensibly functioning constitution and a Clown sitting in the office.
Porn is for our demise, served by the Jews to take you out. I don't watch porn and neither should anyone, or youre playing into their hands. Doesn't matter of you share your info to prove your age, you are still destroying your mind with porn, no matter what age you are.
They hate you watching porn, they even more so hate you for drawing or consuming suggestive content of fictional characters.
They only want you to submit under The One God and the One World Order of their God. The civilization and religions of gentiles will obliterated as they take your children to be raped in their underage harems.
If they promote porn sites, it's a reverse psychology ploy to turn people back from the frying pan into the fire that is the Jewish One world Religion.
Also it's not just porn, even Legitimate horror games are being hidden or destroyed. Regardless of context.
their god is the devil. not the True God.
I agree but the point is they're weaponizing this against people to make you support this shit which is going to be pushed everywhere for everything
And yet, I still totally support anything that is against porn. I wish it never existed.