UK's age verification system for online porn to be delayed indefinitely

[midian182]

What just happened? The UK’s long-running campaign to introduce an age-verification system for online pornography has come to an end before it started. With the launch date just weeks away, it appears the system is being delayed indefinitely.

According to a Sky News source, the UK's Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Secretary, Jeremy Wright, will announce the delay later today in Parliament.

The age verification law was introduced with the Digital Economy Act last year after first being proposed in 2015. It requires any website whose content is more than one-third pornographic to verify that visitors are 18 or over. The scheme had already been delayed twice but was set to come into force on July 15.

Sky News writes that the latest delay is due to the DCMS failing to notify the European Commission of important details, as it is required to do. When reached for comment by the Guardian, a government official “did not deny” that the system had been put on permanent hold.

The so-called porn ban would have been the first of its kind in the West, and any websites that refused to take part would have been blocked by the UK's ISPs.

There were numerous problems with the porn block. Social media sites were exempt, which could have resulted in a sudden flood of porn onto the likes of Twitter, and the system could be easily bypassed with a VPN. But the main issues were those of privacy and security. Age verification methods include handing over banking details online, installing software, or even going into a store to prove your age. This opened up the danger of someone’s porn viewing habits being associated with their identity, which could then be exposed in a hack, leading to potential blackmail.

Most UK residents weren’t even aware of the impending age-verification system, so an announcement of its delay will probably come as a surprise.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/80590-uk-age-verification-system-online-porn-delayed-indefinitely.html

 

[Bubbajim]

Porn site owners should just implement a bot that would generate 2 porn-free pages for every 1 'adult' page, each with a 'noindex' tag so SEO isn't harmed. Any investigation would prove that their website was under 1/3rd pornographic content - job done.

 

[Peter Farkas]

"a premature end" omg hahahahah

 

[stewi0001]

For some reason I still find this pineapple picture humorous

 

[Uncle Al]

Yeah .... it would seem that a banana or long gored would be more appropriate!

 

[Knot Schure]

It would never have worked.

And they know it. So now they've squandered x amount of gov money on its design / implementation, they can quietly put it to bed, knowing the party is now over.

I never considered the porn that might be pushed to non-porn platforms, but yes, that seems like a legitamite concern.

 

[Knot Schure]

For some reason I still find this pineapple picture humorous

It was just an indication of what a sweet thing that lay behind it.

 

[McMurdeR]

Folks who call for this kind of thing fundamentally don't understand how the internet works. There would have been too many workarounds.

 

[amghwk]

For some reason I still find this pineapple picture humorous

It was just an indication of what a sweet thing that lay behind it.

Trust me. It's NOT at all sweet.

 

[Rock Dirty]

Porn site owners should just implement a bot that would generate 2 porn-free pages for every 1 'adult' page, each with a 'noindex' tag so SEO isn't harmed. Any investigation would prove that their website was under 1/3rd pornographic content - job done.

Damn man, don't give up ideas like that for free...

 

[fluffydestroyer]

Porn site owners should just implement a bot that would generate 2 porn-free pages for every 1 'adult' page, each with a 'noindex' tag so SEO isn't harmed. Any investigation would prove that their website was under 1/3rd pornographic content - job done.

Damn man, don't give up ideas like that for free...

porn hub are more useful than the government to be fair so its fair to help them in my opinion

 

[bluetooth fairy]

"It requires any website whose content is more than one-third pornographic to verify that visitors are 18 or over."

I find 18 weird here when age of consent in most part of the world is much lower, usually 16.
https://www.ageofconsent.net/world

It's OK to have sex with your... significant other, and to record what you are doing, but it's not OK to watch what is considered a sex movie.

 

[Capaill]

For some reason I still find this pineapple picture humorous

It was just an indication of what a sweet thing that lay behind it.

Trust me. It's NOT at all sweet.

Ya, I agree, pineapples taste horrible.

 

[Hexic]

"a premature end" omg hahahahah

I see what you did there, ROB.

I laughed, and then teared up a bit.

 

[Polycount]

Porn site owners should just implement a bot that would generate 2 porn-free pages for every 1 'adult' page, each with a 'noindex' tag so SEO isn't harmed. Any investigation would prove that their website was under 1/3rd pornographic content - job done.

Oh my lord. This idea is genius.

 

[Zonther]

Why can't they just tell ISP to enable parental locks on their clients if they so wish to have them to do so? This might lead to ISP being able to charge people to go to pornographic websites. To make it fair, make another law to prevent ISP to charge their customers on what sites they wish to go on to. If the family is afraid that little Johnny or little Emma that might go to a porn site, then the ISP can charge that family to block traffic of that nature. This added service they can charge in my opinion. Better yet, the parents that are complaining about this kind of stuff should be looking over their kids, and not obsessing and ignoring their children that are probably watching pron anyways. These people create their own problems.