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Websites that publish porn will be finally legally required to verify the age of their users under new online safety rules.
As part of a strengthening of the proposed Online Safety Bill, digital minister Chris Philp has said affected sites will need to put ‘robust checks’ in place to ensure users are 18 or over.
Sites could use secure age verification technology to confirm a user possesses a credit card and is therefore at least 18, or use a third-party service to confirm someone’s age against government data.
Ministers said that if sites fail to act, Ofcom, as the sector’s regulator, will be able to fine them up to 10 per cent of their annual global turnover or block their site in the UK, while bosses of such sites could be held criminally liable if they fail to co-operate with Ofcom.
Prior to this announcement, only commercial porn sites that allow user-generated content were in the scope of the Bill — the update means all commercial porn sites are now within the scope of the proposed new rules.
The Government said the onus will be on the companies and sites themselves to decide on how best to comply with the new rules, adding that Ofcom may recommend the use of certain age verification technology, but said that the measures put in place should not process or store data that is irrelevant to the purpose of checking someone’s age.
The shake-up ends years of flip-flopping by the Government on how to control the pornography industry. Plans were first laid out in 2015 only to be mothballed four years later.
Campaigners warn that the vast amounts of porn readily available online are having a worrying impact on children’s attitudes to relationships.
Some have argued that the new rules would have a major impact on the revenue streams of porn sites. But others representing UK celebrities who use OnlyFans insisted that the site already has age verification systems in place. And cybersecurity experts have also warned that the Government’s internet plans could pose a data security risk.
Mr Philp said: ‘It is too easy for children to access pornography online. Parents deserve peace of mind that their children are protected online from seeing things no child should see.
Under draft internet laws, users will have to pass verification checks to prove they are at least 18 (file photo)
‘We are now strengthening the Online Safety Bill so it applies to all porn sites to ensure we achieve our aim of making the internet a safer place for children.’
Half of parents fear web porn gives youngsters an unrealistic view of sex and more than half of mothers think it casts women in a poor light.
Under the Online Safety Bill, age verification checks were to apply only to websites hosting user-generated adult content. This included social media platforms or sites such as OnlyFans, where anyone can register and upload their own adult content.
Critics said that plan was too weak because websites could easily get around it by removing user-generated content.
The Government yesterday said it would strengthen the legislation to include all sites that feature adult content. Officials said the final version would be published ‘within the coming weeks’.
It is not yet clear what the checks will involve because the Government has said the onus would be on the websites.
Ofcom is expected to recommend a range of age verification technologies similar to those already used by gambling websites and alcohol sellers.
While many do not require a full identity check, users may need to prove they are over 18 by using documents such as a passport or credit card.
Experts said age estimation technology could also be used, in which users prove their age by uploading a selfie.
The Government said any technology used must be ‘secure, effective and privacy-preserving’.
If the websites fail to act, Ofcom will be able to fine them up to 10 per cent of their annual worldwide turnover or block them from being accessible in the UK.
Bosses of these websites could also be held criminally liable if they fail to cooperate with Ofcom.
A conservative estimate of the number of 11- to 13-year-olds who had watched porn was around 51 per cent, according to research by the British Board of Film Classification in 2020.
The Daily Mail has been campaigning since 2012 for stronger measures to protect children from finding adult material online. Pressure on the Government saw it pledge to introduce strict age verification checks in 2015 – and came within months of achieving this four years later under the Digital Economy Act.
Andy Burrows, head of child safety online policy at the NSPCC, said: ‘It’s right the Government has listened to calls to fix one of the gaps in the Online Safety Bill and protect children from pornography wherever it’s hosted.
‘Crucially, they have also acted on our concerns and closed the “Only Fans loophole” that would have let some of the riskiest sites off the hook despite allowing children access to extremely damaging material.
‘But the legislation still falls short of giving children comprehensive protection from preventable abuse and harmful content and needs significant strengthening to match the Government’s rhetoric and focus minds at the very top of tech companies on child safety.’
Alex Davies-Jones, Labour’s shadow minister for tech, gambling and the digital economy, said: ‘Labour has long called on the Government to offer security for young people online, and we’re glad it has accepted our call for all pornography sites to stop children accessing them by using age-verification technology.
‘We need strict age protection rules, while tightly regulating age-verification tech to ensure they are not being used to collect unnecessary personal data and to protect people’s privacy online.
‘Ultimately the Tories’ persistent delays on online safety legislation means that another generation have grown up with access to harmful content online — they can and must do better.’
Speaking to MailOnline, a source close to OnlyFans star Sarah Jayne Dunn said: ‘It is already a part of OnlyFans policy and procedure that you have to prove you are 18+ in order to set up an account. It is a far more rigorous process in terms of meeting the platforms requirements than most social media sites, which is obviously a very positive thing for content creators.’
But a spokesman for site King Savage Media added: ‘It may bring a major decrease in revenue for adult websites, which will most likely the decrease their ability to offer the most of their collections. For example, for a pay website, they may decrease the amount of new scenes they offer per week, especially if their revenue decreases as a portion of UK porn viewership anonymity expires.’
Cyber experts have warned that any extra steps which rely on the transfer of data could be appealing to cybercriminals.
Firms must decide how to vet their customers – potentially with credit card, passport or driving licence details (file image posed by models)
Jamie Akhtar, chief executive of cybersecurity firm CyberSmart, said: ‘Despite the commitment to user privacy outlined in the Government’s announcement, the process may pose security risks for adults.
‘Data is the lifeblood of cybercrime and adding an extra step that requires the transfer of personal data — for verification — could well make adult sites a key target for criminals.
‘Of course, this risk is far outweighed by the potential benefits, but it’s worth sounding a cautionary note and urging adults who use these sites to be as diligent as possible.’
Yaniv Balmas, vice president of research at Salt Security, added: ‘Yes, age verification services do exist today — and are in fact quite common in some online business sectors. However, we must remember that the most effective age verification methods require users to share their personal information, whether it is their photo, ID, phone number, credit card or anything else.
‘This is somewhat a double-edged sword; while it will certainly help reduce the exposure of these websites to the underaged, it also creates a privacy concern in which porn sites will now have the theoretical ability to identify their previously anonymised users, and protecting this data will now be shifted to their responsibility.’
In late 2019, then culture secretary Nicky Morgan scrapped the plans, instead insisting they would be replaced by a ‘duty of care’ in future legislation. This later became the Online Safety Bill, which was published in draft form last year.
The Age Verification Providers Association said it used artificial intelligence to estimate someone’s age to within two years with an ‘enormous degree of certainty’.
Iain Corby, executive director at the body, said: ‘Adult websites were ready to implement age checks in 2019 – and they remain ready today. Ofcom’s main problem is making sure they can apply it to everyone all at once. No company will want to be the first to introduce it for fear of losing its audience.’
The Online Safety Bill will impose a duty of care on tech giants to protect users against illegal or harmful content, with Ofcom acting as regulator.
Officials said it would be published in full in ‘the coming weeks’ and will be put before Parliament.
Source: Daily Mail
