Pornography sites: Online age verification tools to come into force in July

LONDON: Age verification tools required on porn sites to prevent underage internet users seeing explicit content will be introduced in July.

The measures, the first of their kind anywhere in the world, will require porn sites by law to carry out “robust age-verification checks on users”, the government has said.Websites that fail to implement the new rules — which will come into force on July 15 — face having payment services withdrawn or being blocked for UK internet users.

The government said users will be able to verify their age in a number of ways, including using traditional forms of ID such as a credit card or passport, or by buying an over-the-counter card from shops where verification would take place face-to-face. Digital minister Margot James said: “Adult content is currently far too easy for children to access online. 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.”

The government confirmed that the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), which classifies movies in the UK, will be the age verification regulator.Its chief executive David Austin said: “The introduction of age-verification to restrict access to commercial pornographic websites to adults is a groundbreaking child protection measure. Age-verification will help prevent children from accessing pornographic content online and means the UK is leading the way in internet safety. “On entry into force, consumers will be able to identify that an age-verification provider has met rigorous security and data checks if they carry the BBFC’s new green ‘AV’ symbol.”