UK Porn Age Verification Law
For around 2 years now, the UK government has been looking into introducing a law that would require online pornographic websites to verify the age of its users before allowing access to the website. With many adult websites easily allowing underage people to access them (often these days without even an ‘are you over 18’ checkbox) it is a matter that has been of much concern to many.
Well, it seems that like it or not, a law has been passed that will bring in age verification requirements for UK users and will come into effect in April 2019.
How Will It Work?
While in a report via SkyNews while the law has been confirmed, it seems that they still can’t quite decide how it will be enforced. There has been talk of registration at a national database to get an ‘access code’. Alternatively, there has been talk of authentication via an app on your smartphone. Ultimately, however, the short answer is that no one knows.
It’s a law, it’s coming into effect in April, but exactly how people will be able to access the sites seems entirely undecided. A pretty important factor if you ask us! One that probably should’ve been decided before this law was made.
What Do We Think?
We entirely understand the concern for such regulation. As above, there is very little on the internet these days stopping children under 18 accessing adults-only material. The problem we have, however, is with the implementation of this law. To us, it just seems entirely unrealistic. Firstly, if you are given an ‘access code’ does this mean that your usage and ‘preferences’ will be monitored? If so, if the database that records this is hacked, does that open the doors to being blackmailed? It’s all rather grey (50 shades worth?) and that makes it worrying.
One thing, however, is certain. We suspect that significant growth in both the advertisement and adoption of VPN programs (allowing users to mask their identity online) to ramp up quite significantly.
What do you think? – Let us know in the comments!
We are watched every corner regardless. Better commit a light crime and sit in the prison. We are the country of criminals and everyone is guilty.
If the risk of being “found out” makes you ashamed then maybe you shouldn’t be looking at it in the first place.
Also you aren’t looking at it you have nothing to worry about being monitored or your details being hacked off a database.
While I understand the sentiments, we all have our ‘preferences’ that we’d prefer to keep private.
Totally going to result in routine vpn usage which will mean investigating online crime becomes a nightmare. Anyone downloading indecent images of children is likely to be a porn fiend in general and will be more likely to be using a vpn. Sure…they’re not infallible as that Cambridge university guy was traced despite using VPNs and Tor etc. But it took 3 years and huge resources and he put a big target on his back. They can’t do that with every random person at all levels of offending.
Another guy called Tim Varchmin was idnetified by his broadband provider as making suspicious searches online. And was reported to the police. He was cleared due to ambiguity over who was using the computer at the time but the point is had he been using a vpn, then Sky broadband would have definitely had no idea what was happening. Many others are probably identified the same way through automated software spotting search terms on Google/Bing or even P2P software. All at risk if routine VPN usage becomes the norm.