The UK government has decided not to proceed with the implementation of a strict age verification policy for adult sites online.
The controversial ‘porn block’ legislation would have required many hookup dating sites to add state-approved digital ID solutions to their signup pages. ISPs were expected to block sites which fell short of the requirements.
The policy aimed to keep children safe online by making it more difficult for them to access adult content, either unintentionally or intentionally.
Any block could be easily circumvented through the use of a VPN, however, as few other countries restrict content in this way.
A further concern was that a database of porn users could be vulnerable to hacks.
Robin Tombs, CEO of digital ID company Yoti, approved of the legislation. He wrote on LinkedIn: “Many adults, children charities, MPs and Yoti are naturally disappointed that the UK Govt will no longer shortly introduce effective age verification to ensure much commercially driven porn content is not normally accessible to children.
“It is a backward step to kick this issue a further year or two down the road. Scientifically proven digital ID and age estimation AI solutions now make it easy for regulators to require businesses to check age effectively, with no risk of people entering credit card details, passport or driving license details into websites.”
Digital Secretary Nicky Morgan has said that, in lieu of the porn block, a new regulator will be formed to approach the issue of adult content online. The body will have “strong enforcement powers to deal with non-compliance”.
In May, Global Dating Insights spoke to AgeGo Product Manager Jorge Bravo about the proposals as they then stood.
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