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UK regulator Ofcom has issued new guidance stating that all websites on which pornographic material can be found (including user-generated content such as social media) must introduce “robust” and “reliable” age verification for users by July.
The guidance, which has been issued under the Online Safety Act, requires “highly effective methods of age assurance” to be used by services that might host pornographic material, and that “weaker age checks” such as self-declaration or payment methods that are not themselves age-verified, will no longer be sufficient.
Online services must introduce age checks to protect children from encountering porn.
Our new guidance sets out how we expect sites and apps to introduce highly effective age assurance, while protecting adults' privacy rights.
➡️ Find out more.
— Ofcom (@Ofcom) January 16, 2025
According to Ofcom, research suggests that the average age children first come across pornography online is 13, though nearly a quarter encounter it by age 11, and one in ten are aged nine when they first see it.
Ofcom has provided a ‘non-exhaustive’ list of ‘highly effective’ methods of age assurance. These include:
- Open banking
- Photo ID matching
- Facial age estimation
- Mobile network operator age checks
- Credit card checks
- Digital ID wallets
“Our practical guidance sets out a range of methods for highly effective age checks,” said Melanie Dawes, Ofcom CEO. “We’re clear that weaker methods – such as allowing users to self-declare their age – won’t meet this standard.
“Regardless of their approach, we expect all services to offer robust protection to children from stumbling across pornography, and also to take care that privacy rights and freedoms for adults to access legal content are safeguarded.”
Does America have similar age verification laws to access pornography?
As with many things in America, the legalities surrounding age verification requirements on websites that might host pornographic material are managed at a state level rather than a federal level.
Earlier last year, Aylo-owned website PornHub ceased operating in Texas, North Carolina, Montana, and several other states, citing the privacy and security risks brought about by new age verification requirements. They claimed that “While these new laws claim to protect children from accessing harmful material online — something we fully support — they not only fail to do this but also jeopardize user safety and privacy.”
Featured image credit: Ideogram
