P0rn sites available in the UK will have to perform stringent checks to ensure visitors are aged 18 or over, starting tomorrow, July 25.
In a strong bid to stop children accessing p0rn online, adults will have to submit ID or even have their face scanned, depending on what site they access.
Several porn providers have confirmed to online regulator Ofcom that they will introduce these checks by tomorrow’s deadline.
If any sites fail to do so, Ofcom can impose fines and in very serious cases apply for a court order to prevent the site or app from being available.
‘We will be actively checking compliance from 25 July and, should it be necessary, we expect to launch any investigations into individual services next week,’ Ofcom said.
According to Oliver Griffiths, Ofcom’s group director of online safety, making life safer online ‘is one of the defining challenges of our era’.
‘Society has long protected youngsters from products that aren’t suitable for them, from alcohol to smoking or gambling,’ he said.
‘But for too long children have been only a click away from harmful pornography online.
‘Now, change is happening. These age checks will bring pornography into line with how we treat adult services in the real world, without compromising access and privacy for over-18s.’
