The UK government will make all porn sites introduce mandatory "robust" age checks, it has announced.
A consultation from the Department for Culture Media and Sport said "commercial providers" of porn should have verification controls to stop under 18s viewing the content. Companies that don't comply may face fines from a new porn regulator, or have their websites shut down.
However, the proposals have been criticised for setting a "dangerous precent" for internet access and "wooly" by critics of the plans.
The government said it would "establish a new requirement in law for commercial providers to have in place robust age verification controls for online pornographic content in the UK" and create a new "regulatory framework" that is "underpinned by civil sanctions".
Internet Safety and Security Minister Baroness Shields, who announced the plans, said the proposals were about keeping children safe online. Under the plans content that would receive an 18 or R18 film rating from the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) will be hidden behind the age-verification system.
In practice this is likely to mean that anyone wanting to watch pornography online will need to identify themselves. It isn't clear how this verification will be done, but the gambling industry requires people sign up with a valid credit card to confirm their age.
University of East Anglia law and privacy lecturer Dr Paul Bernal told WIRED that "web savvy" teens would be able to get around any measures introduced and that the plans may have wider implications. "A key factor is that at least some of the UK porn industry is embracing the idea - presumably so that overseas porn is blocked for not complying with the UK-set standards," he told WIRED. The government said that "all" pornographic websites would require "some form of age verification".
Bernal added: "That's a very dangerous precedent to set, and fits with a worldwide trend of 'localisation' and effective censorship. Are they expecting full-scale web-blocking of legal porn sites, Pirate Bay style? Or asking Google not to link to them?"
Plans for online ID checks for pornography were first suggested by the Conservative government in the build up to the 2015 general election. In May 2015 operators of some adult websites agreed there was some need for online age verification.
PornHub, one of the world's most popular pornography sites, has already agreed to the scheme. "Pornhub will comply fully with any robust legislative and relevant local measures that emerge from this consultation," a spokesperson for the website said. "As members of the Digital Policy Alliance, we have already been working to carve out a technical solution which works for all. It's essential that all explicit adult content is covered, and non-compliant sites are quickly taken down."
It is also not clear whether non-pornographic websites that host such content, such as Twitter or Tumblr, would be required to introduce age verification systems. Dr Gilad Rosner, who is a member of the Cabinet Office Privacy and Consumer Advocacy Group, said any system could take five years to introduce and would be "highly challenging".
The consultation runs until 12 April and academics, internet providers, pornography companies, charities and others have been asked to submit evidence to the government.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
