They’re some of the most popular platforms in the world.
But Brits will soon have to prove they’re over-18 to access porn sites across the UK.
Ofcom has sent out a new letter to ‘hundreds’ of services whose principal purpose is to host pornography.
In the letter, the regulator explains exactly what needs to be done – and by when.
‘Services in scope of the Online Safety Act and which allow pornography, must implement highly effective age assurance to stop under-18s encountering that content,’ the letter reads.
‘This letter sets out what services need to do in more detail and explains the consequences of non-compliance.’
The regulator has also set a hard deadline for the mandatory age-checks to be implemented.
‘You will need to introduce highly effective age assurance for users by 25 July 2025,’ the letter added.
They’re some of the most popular platforms in the world. But Brits will soon have to prove they’re over-18 to access porn sites across the UK (stock image)
The porn crackdown is part of the Online Safety Act 2023 – a set of laws that protects children and adults online.
Under this act, platforms which allow pornography will be forced to implement ‘highly effective age assurance’ to stop children encountering pornographic content.
In its guidance documents, Ofcom lists seven strategies that it would consider ‘highly effective’.
These are open banking, photo-ID matching, facial age estimation, mobile-network operator (MNO) age checks, credit card checks, email-based age estimation, and digital identity services.
Open banking works by accessing the information a bank has on record regarding a user’s age, while photo-ID matching involves uploading a verified photo-ID document.
Facial age estimate works by analysing the features of a user’s face to estimate their age, and MNO age checks inolves mobile-network operators applying age-restriction filters themselves.
Because you must be 18 to get a credit card in the UK, credit card checks are also listed as ‘highly effective’, as are email-based age estimations, which estimate your age based on the other services where you’ve provided your email address.
‘This could include where an email address has been associated with financial institutions such as mortgage lenders,’ Ofcom explained.
Ofcom has sent out a new letter to ‘hundreds’ of services whose principal purpose is to host pornography (stock image)
Finally, Ofcom says that sites could rely on digital identities – digital versions of physical IDs.
However, the regulator says that three strategies are not effective enough.
This includes self-declaration of age, age verification through online payment methods which don’t require you to be over-18 (such as debit cards), and ‘general contractual restrictions’.
‘For example: including as part of the terms of service a condition that prohibits users who are under 18 years old from using the service, without any additional age assurance; general disclaimers asserting that all users should be 18 years of age or over; or warnings on specific content that the content is only suitable for over 18s,’ Ofcom said.
If the adult sites don’t implement these checks by 25 July, it could cost them dearly.
Firms will faces fines of up to £18 million or 10% of qualifying global revenue – which could reach billions of pounds for the largest firms.
What’s more, Ofcom will also have the power to seek a court order banning access to a site in the UK, in the most extreme cases.
Ofcom chief executive, Dame Melanie Dawes, said: ‘These changes are a reset for children online.
‘They will mean safer social media feeds with less harmful and dangerous content, protections from being contacted by strangers and effective age checks on adult content.
‘Ofcom has been tasked with bringing about a safer generation of children online, and if companies fail to act they will face enforcement.’
