LONDON — The speculation and wait is over as the U.K. government becomes the first country in the world to mandate age verification for internet users — with the new law coming into force July 15.
The news came in an official statement from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport and Margot James MP.
At its essence, the U.K.’s age verification law requires porn sites to check the age of users or risk facing sanctions by using a new approach that is the first of its kind and puts in place the same protections that exist offline, along with strict measures to protect users’ data and privacy.
Now, commercial providers of online pornography will be required by law to carry out robust age-verification checks on users, to ensure that they are 18 or over. Websites that fail to implement age-verification technology face having payment services withdrawn or being blocked for U.K. users.
The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) will be responsible for ensuring compliance with the new laws and have confirmed that they will begin enforcement July 15, following an implementation period to allow websites time to comply with the new standards.
Certified age-verification solutions which offer these robust data protection conditions will be certified following an independent assessment and will carry the BBFC’s new green “AV” symbol. Details will also be published on the BBFC’s age-verification website, AgeVerificationRegulator.com so consumers can make an informed choice between age-verification providers.
“Adult content is currently far too easy for children to access online. The introduction of mandatory age-verification is a world-first, and we’ve taken the time to balance privacy concerns with the need to protect children from inappropriate content,” James said. “We want the U.K. to be the safest place in the world to be online, and these new laws will help us achieve this.”
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