UK plan to stop teenagers watching porn online prematurely stumbles
Plans to introduce new age verification systems for all websites containing adult material are expected to be postponed indefinitely over legal issues with the European Commission. The new system, dubbed the UK porn block, was meant to launch on July 15.
Under the new policy, internet users trying to access adult entertainment websites would have to verify that they are over the age of 18 using one of the methods approved by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC). Some of these methods involved uploading identification documents such as a passport or driving license. Others involved going into a shop to buy a single-use porn pass. The new rules, which fall under the Digital Economy Act, were criticized for various privacy, security and practical reasons, including by me.
However, in a win for horny UK teens, it seems as though the porn block will be delayed. Sky News reports that UK government officials failed to notify the European Commission of key details of the plan. The report said that Jeremy Wright, Secretary at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), is expected to announce the delay in Parliament today. It is believed that the issue is not technical, but bureaucratic.
This will be the third time the scheme has been delayed, the last of which was announced on April 17. It appears that porn block will now become one of the first controversial issues the new Prime Minister (almost certainly Boris Johnson) will have to tackle in office.
The practice of using third-party age-verification systems which collect personal data which can potentially be linked to pornography is a recipe for blackmail, claim campaigners against the law. The Open Rights Group has criticized the law, calling it has called the UK porn block "pointless misleading and potentially dangerous."
We will update this story if and when we hear a statement from the DCMS in London today.
Via: The Guardian Source: Sky News
