The UK government is forging ahead with its plans to limit access to adult content online, launching a public consultation on age verification for pornography sites.



The proposal follows the Conservative’s manifesto pledge to require all pornographic sites to check the age of their visitors. The government is seeking input from charities, academics and internet service providers, who have so far been at the frontline of David Cameron’s child protection drive. It calls for “robust tools” for parents and children as well as “legal protections” for abuse.

The consultation document was written by co-chairs for the UK Council for Child Internet Safety, Lady Shields, Karen Bradley and Edward Timpson.

The co-chairs said: “It is not unhealthy for teenagers to be interested in sex. But we can and should do more to ensure that children, particularly younger more vulnerable children, cannot easily access sexual content which will distress them or harm their development.”

The government is aiming to place the burden of age verification on commercial pornography providers – those profiting from material deemed as 18 or R18 by the British Board of Film Classification.

While paid-for pornography sites typically require payment methods such as credit cards that are limited in availability to those under 18s, many of the biggest adult entertainment sites are free, supported by advertising.

The consultation states that data from ComScore indicates 1.4 million unique visitors to adult sites were under the age of 18 in May 2015.

Most free sites simply ask the visitor to state their age before entering the site, but this easily circumventable check will not be valid under the provisions being looked at by the government.

The government plans to use pressure on payment providers, hosting services and other services on which pornography sites rely to enforce the policy change.



James Blessing, chair of UK ISP industry body the Internet Services Providers’ Association, said: “ISPA agrees with the proposed ‘follow the money’ approach targeting those profiting from websites offering adult content without offering suitable age verification procedures.”

Others have been more critical, claiming that while it will force UK-based businesses to comply, those operating outside the UK may not comply. The government may be forced to employ the types of measures against non-compliant sites that has seen ISPs ordered by court to block piracy sites in the UK, which some have labeled as tantamount to localised censorship.

Cameron’s previous pledges have seen ISPs introduce internet filters, which have had mixed results. Some have been turned on by default, blocking adults from accessing pornographic material and causing outrage, while others have inadvertently blocked access to sex education, charity and information sites.

All of the filters can be circumvented using commonly available tools, such as internet tunnelling and virtual private networks.

The consultation said: “Tech-savvy young people determined to access pornography will always find ways to do so and the internet is only one of the routes via which children are exposed to pornography.

“More than one solution is needed and we are aware that there is no single solution here.”

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