The guidance also has implications for social media platforms, which will also be required to apply "highly effective" age assurance to prevent children accessing pornographic content under the law. The guidance is expected to be finalised in early 2025. Critics have raised concerns about the impact on privacy and the potential for misuse of personal data. Ofcom's guidance states that all age assurance methods are subject to the UK's privacy laws, and online pornography services are required to keep written records explaining how they protect users from a breach of these laws.
Key takeaways:
- The U.K.'s Internet regulator, Ofcom, has released draft guidance for how porn sites will need to implement age checks to prevent children from accessing adult content. This is part of a new legal requirement under the country's Online Safety Act.
- The age checks could involve users signing into Open Banking, uploading a copy of their passport and having a live selfie taken, or submitting to a webcam assessment for an AI to estimate their age. Other methods could include credit card checks or the use of digital identity wallets.
- The same requirements for age checks will also apply to social media platforms and other user-to-user services that allow adult content on their platforms. This could potentially lead to age verification being required on much of the web.
- While the new regulations are aimed at making the internet safer for children, there are concerns about the impact on privacy and data security. Users will need to trust porn sites and third-party age assurance providers to keep their personal data safe, and there are fears that the new rules could lead to an increase in the use of VPNs to access porn anonymously.