UK Porn Websites Block Comes Into Force On July 15

UK Porn Websites Block Comes Into Force On July 15. The checks will be rigorous – you won’t be able to just type in your date of birth or tick a box

Brits who watch porn online will be forced to prove their age before accessing X-rated sites from the summer.

The government has confirmed that the controversial age-verification checks will come into force on 15 July 2019 , forcing users to prove they are over 18 before accessing adult content.

“Adult content is currently far too easy for children to access online,” Minister for Digital, Margot James, said in a statement.

“The introduction of mandatory age-verification is a world-first, and we’ve taken the time to balance privacy concerns with the need to protect children from inappropriate content.

“We want the UK to be the safest place in the world to be online, and these new laws will help us achieve this.”

Here’s what you need to know about the new age-verification system:

Why are the checks being introduced?

A large amount of pornography is available online with little or no protections to ensure that those accessing it are old enough to do so.

Campaigners argue this is changing the way young people understand healthy relationships, sex and consent.

In response, the UK government brought forward legislation in the Digital Economy Act 2017 to combat these changing attitudes, and ensure that what is unacceptable offline is also unacceptable online.

Under the terms of the Act, all online commercial pornography services accessible from the UK will be required to carry age-verification controls.

How will it work?

There will be a number of age-verification options available, depending on what website you’re trying to access.

The checks will be rigorous – you won’t be able to just type in your date of birth or tick a box.

Age-verification solutions range from the use of traditional ID documents online (for example, credit cards or passports) to mobile phones where the adult filters have been removed.

Mindgeek – the company that owns Pornhub, YouPorn, RedTube and Brazzers – has developed its own system called AgeID to check users’ age.

Another company, AVSecure, offers an age-verification solution called AgePass which uses blockchain technology to protect the viewer’s anonymity.

Software providers AgeChecked and 1Account are among the other companies offering age-verification solutions to adult website publishers.

Source: UK Mirror