Age Verification For Online Porn Will Start In July
17 April 2019, 12:44 | Updated: 17 April 2019, 12:55
The government has announced the UK will become the first country in the world to bring in age-verification for online pornography when the measures come into force on 15 July 2019.
The new rules will mean providers of online pornography will be required by law to carry out age-verification checks to ensure porn viewers are over 18.
Sites that fail to comply with the new rules will face large fines and could be blocked in the UK if they don't comply with regulators.
The British Board of Film Classification will be responsible for enforcing the new laws, which will start on 15 July, following an implementation period to allow websites time to comply with the new standards.
Minister for Digital Margot James said: “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. We want the UK to be the safest place in the world to be online, and these new laws will help us achieve this.”
