UK government drops age verification policy for porn sites

The UK Government has dropped it’s plans to introduce strict over 18 age verification to commercial porn sites. The new policy was initially set to launch in April 2018 but now will not be commencing. 

Such as system would operate by checking the IP address location of the user. If that location is in the UK the age verification checks would take place. Critics have warned that restrictions can be simply bypassed by using VPN (virtual private network), which can disguise the real location of an individual by allowing the user to connect to a VPN server in a different country.

Privacy concerns were also raised, the majority of age checking services available really verify the identity of the individual and not just the age. A database of people, who use adult websites could be seen as a honeypot for scammers. 

A few solutions were being proposed to solve the problem the most likely solution was a system called AgeID. The service, created by a consortium of commercial pornography services allows you to create a Digital ID, which you can later user prove an individual is over 18. The service aimed to solve privacy fears by not storing an individuals personal information. The service would however store a persons email address, which is enough to identify a person individually. 

Self Sovereign identity firm Yoti also positioned itself as a possible solution. The solution offered by Yoti went further to protect the users identity by providing only age confirmation to adult websites and no other data. Yoti’s storage system means personal information is only stored on a users own device, there is no central honeypot to steal. 

The culture secretary Nicky Morgan, provided a written statement on Wednesday 16th October “The government would not be commencing Part 3 of the Digital Economy Act concerning age verification for online pornography. Instead porn providers would be expected to meet a new duty of care to improve online safety. This will be policed by the new online regulator with strong enforcement powers to deal with non-compliance. This course of action will give the regulator discretion on the most effective means for companies to meet their duty of care.”