Masturbation is about to get a lot more complicated from April next year – with porn sites requiring proof of age before anyone can see adult content (including free sites).

Rules for how the ban on under-18s will work were quietly passed by the House of Commons on Monday this week – and are expected to be in place by April.

From that date, anyone who visits a porn site from a British IP address will be asked for ‘proof’ they are 18, provided either from ID such as driving licences or from age verification cards bought in shops.

It’s going to get a lot more complicated (Picture: iStock/Getty)

The ban on under-18s was approved as part of the Digital Economy Act last year, but the British Board of Film Censors had to come up with rules on how the age verification will work.




There will be several companies offering age verification systems, says Stuart Lawley, CEO of AVSecure, which will offer one system next year, with a ‘kitemark’ style system to ensure the verification complies with the law.

Lawley predicts the system will launch by April 15.

Rishi Sunak ends furlough scheme and reveals winter rescue plan

Lawley says that 60,000 shops in Britain will offer Age Verification cards (based on shopkeeper’s assessment), which should be on offer before April.

Lawley says, ‘The British Board of Film Censors has been appointed as the regulator – and we expect they’ll give sites 90 days notice to comply, so it’ll probably be in place by mid-April.

‘The BBFC will look at the methods age verification systems use to verify people are 18, so for instance, a name and adress wouldn’t be enough – but a scan of a driving licence or a credit card and CVV number would be OK.’

Jazz aficionados may be a bit upset in April (Getty)

Users who attempt to access adult content will instead see a page asking for proof of age, which will redirect them to an age verification service.

Age verification services will offer ‘tokens’ proving that people are over 18 will be stored in internet browsers, allowing users to log in to sites (once they’ve proved they’re 18 and registered with an age verification system).

Sites which refuse to comply with the system could be blocked by internet service providers (ISPs).

Gruesome advert shows how quickly coronavirus spreads in your home

Lawley says that there are seven or eight systems, which will be certified by the BBFC, but he expects a ‘Coke and Pepsi’ system with most users opting for either AVSecure’s blockchain-based AgePass system or MindGeek’s system.

MindGeek is an internet porn giant which owns Pornhub, YouPorn and pay porn sites such as Brazzers, and will use its own separate AgeID system.

Stock image sites have some great concept images for porn, as illustrated here (Getty)

It’s not yet clear whether all porn sites will accept all age verification systems.

Lawley says, ‘Our system is free of charge. You can register via our website, either with an age verification card or ID like a driving licence and national insurance number.

Lawley says that he hopes users will opt for AgePass as it doesn’t harvest information such as email addresses and browsing habits, and use this for marketing purposes.

Lufthansa to trial pre-flight coronavirus tests that give results in 15 minutes

‘You will be able to go to our site and register your devices in advance of the law,’ Lawley says, ‘So consumers won’t have to put their mouse down, so to speak.’



AgePass uses blockchain (the technology underlying cryptocurrencies) to authenticate each user, and doesn’t store information such as usernames (or browsing habits).

‘That’s the whole point of blockchain,’ Lawley says. ‘You don’t need to know who owns the token, just need to know it was issued in a valid manner.’

In the long run, Lawley believes, similar systems will be used to regulate access to social media sites.