All porn sites to ‘strictly’ check age of users in UK from July

All porn sites  to 'strictly' check age of users in UK  from July.
All websites  hosting pornographic  material, including social media platforms, must introduce  'robust' age verification techniques, such as  requiring photo ID or credit card  verification for  users in the UK by  July.
The long-awaited guidance,  published by regulator Ofcom,  is drawn up under the  Internet Safety Act  (OSA) and  aims to  stop children from easily accessing  online pornography.
Research shows that the average age at which young people first  view explicit material online in the UK is 13  – with many being exposed to it much  earlier.
"For too long, many online services  that allow  pornography and other harmful  content have ignored the fact that children are accessing their  services," said Ofcom  director Melanie Dawes, adding:  "Today, this  is starting to  happen."
Ofcom confirmed to the BBC  that this meant  that user-to-user  services, such as social media  platforms, would have to implement  "very effective  controls" - which in some cases  could mean "preventing children from accessing the entire  site". However, some  pornographic sites and privacy  advocates have warned  that the move  would be counterproductive, saying  that introducing  stronger age verification  would push people  into the "darker corners" of the  internet. 'Ready to go'
The media regulator estimates that  around 14 million people watch  pornography online in the  UK.
But it is so  widely available that  children's rights groups have raised concerns that children  are viewing it at a young age  – one in  ten children  see it  before the age  of nine, according to a survey by the  Children's Commissioner.
"As age  controls start to  be put in place in the coming months, adults will start to notice a  change in  the way they access certain online  services," Dame  Melanie said.
The rules also require services  that publish their own pornographic content  – including AI-generated tools  – to  start introducing age  controls immediately.
Age verification platform Yoti  has called  the technology  "essential" to creating safe spaces  online. "It is important that age  verification is  implemented on all porn sites of all sizes,  to create a level playing  field and  provide age-appropriate access for adults," said  Julie Dawson, head of regulations and  policy.
However, Aylo,  the company  behind the website Pornhub, told the BBC  that this  type of age verification was "ineffective,  random and  dangerous".
The company said that pornography use  had changed significantly in  the US state  of Louisiana after age verification  checks came into  effect, with  traffic to its  website falling by 80% in the  state.
"These people  haven't stopped looking for porn,  they've just migrated to  the darker corners of the internet that don't  require users to verify  their age," it  said.
"In effect, the laws have made the internet more dangerous for adults and  children."
Companies get  clarification
Ofcom has published what it calls a "non-exhaustive" list of technologies that  can be used to verify  age, which  includes:
It also  stipulates that pornographic content should not be accessible to users  until they have completed age  verification. Other age verification  companies have  reacted positively to the  news.
"The regulator's long-awaited guidance on age assurance means  that adult content providers now have the clarity they need to  put their houses in order and put in place robust and reliable methods to keep explicit material away from underage  users," said Lina Ghazal, head of regulatory and public affairs at  Verifymy.
But privacy group Big Brother Watch warned that many  age verification methods  can be  overlooked and should not be seen as a  panacea.
"Children need to be protected online, but many technological  methods of age  verification are ineffective and  pose additional risks to children and  adults, including security breaches, privacy  intrusions, errors, digital exclusion and  censorship," said  director Silkie  Carlo.
"We must avoid  any digital  identity system for the internet that  removes online privacy and  fails to keep children  safe," she added.