Australians may have to verify they are over 18 before watching porn if an age filter proposal moves ahead.

Key points: A House of Representatives committee has recommended a mandatory age filter for online porn

A House of Representatives committee has recommended a mandatory age filter for online porn The eSafety commissioner has been asked to create a roadmap for age checks within 12 months

The eSafety commissioner has been asked to create a roadmap for age checks within 12 months A similar proposal in the UK collapsed over concerns a filter could be easily evaded

Parliament's Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs has recommended mandatory age verification be used before viewers can access online pornography and some forms of online gaming.

This follows an inquiry that looked at whether age checks could protect young people from being exposed to forms of disturbing content online.

"The evidence was clear that exposure to online pornography is associated with terrible harms to young people's health, education, relationships, and wellbeing," the committee chair, LNP MP Andrew Wallace, said in a statement.

The inquiry gained attention in late 2019 when the Department of Home Affairs suggested a proposed facial recognition tool could be used to verify age for porn viewers.

The face verification service, which is not yet operational, will check facial images against official identity documents, such as a driver's licence.

Ultimately, a variety of age verification approaches were canvassed by the committee, including checks based on government-issued ID, consumer information such as consumer credit databases and biometric data.

But it stopped short of proposing a specific method for determining people's age on porn sites, and said any tool should minimise the retention of personal information to avoid creating a "honeypot of sensitive data".

The committee recommended the eSafety commissioner create a "roadmap" for the creation of an age filter within 12 months.

It also directed the Government's Digital Transformation Agency to create a standard for online age verification, and raised the possibility third-party providers could be involved in offering such services.

UK failed to create porn blocker

Other countries have attempted — and failed — to create porn age filters for minors.

A proposal in the United Kingdom was dropped last year amid privacy concerns, and warnings that under-18s could evade any block by using virtual private networks (VPNs) or accessing content on platforms not covered by the law.

In its report, the committee acknowledges that not all websites where porn can be found will be captured by any age filter, among other challenges.

"While age verification is not a silver bullet, it can create a significant barrier to prevent young people — and particularly young children — from exposure to harmful online content," Mr Wallace said.

Porn age filter the wrong solution for the problem, expert says

Tim Singleton Norton, board member at Digital Rights Watch, said age verification was a distraction from the conversations we needed to have to keep kids safe online.

In his view, it was a technical fix for a social issue.

"The UK example has shown how useless an age verification regime can be — it's easily circumvented and just drives access underground," he said.

"If we're genuine about wanting to protect children from dangerous content (including porn), then we already know the answer.

"Open communication, investment in sex education and funding for programs that break down social stigma and allow parents and children to be skilled in navigating such situations."

eSafety commissioner Julie Inman Grant also said that while she shared the committee's concerns about the ease with which children could access pornography, the "best firewall to accessing harmful content" was parents.

"eSafety will continue to do its utmost to limit children's and young people's exposure to online pornography within the current regulatory and resourcing arrangements, but we believe this has become a broader societal issue, where we all have a responsibility to play a role," she said.

The Shadow Assistant Minister for Cyber Security Tim Watts said Labor supported work to protect children and young people from the harmful effects of online pornography.

"Labor will look closely at what the eSafety commissioner can come up with to address this difficult but very important issue," he said.