'Porn ban' is delayed days before it was due to take effect, but will happen ‘soon’
A new law which will require all porn sites to block users under the age of 18 has been pushed back, after reports suggesting it would start on April 1.
The Department of Culture Media and Sport says that the date for the ‘porn ban’ will be announced shortly.
A DCMS spokesman said, ‘This is a world-leading step forward to protect our children from adult content which is currently far too easy to access online.
‘The government, and the BBFC as the regulator, have taken the time to get this right and we will announce a commencement date shortly.’
Under the plan, porn site users will be greeted with a warning page requiring them to log in via an age verification system.
Users will need to provide ID, either in the form of credit cards, driver’s licences, or special cards purchased from shops.
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There will be several systems used by different sites, but Pornhub and Youporn will use ‘AgeID’, says James Clark, AgeID spokesperson.
Clark says, ‘When a user first visits a site protected by AgeID, a landing page will appear with a prompt for the user to verify their age before they can access the site. Each website will create their own non-pornographic landing page for this purpose.’
The first time they visit, users will have to create an Age ID account by verifying their ID, with an email and password.
Clark says, ‘First, a user can register an AgeID account using an email address and password. The user verifies their email address and then chooses an age verification option from our list of 3rd party providers, using options such as Mobile SMS, Credit Card, Passport, or Driving Licence.
‘The second option is to purchase a PortesCard or voucher from a retail outlet. Using this method, a customer does not need to register an email address, and can simply access the site using the Portes app.’
Thereafter, users will be able to use this username/password combination to log into all porn sites which use the Age ID system (although some porn sites may use different age verification systems, Clark warns).
Clark says, ‘It is a one-time verification, with a simple single sign-on for future access. If a user verifies on one AgeID protected site, they will not need to perform this verification again on any other site carrying AgeID.’
The ban on under-18s was approved as part of the Digital Economy Act last year.
