porn sites to request proof of age

[chrishornx]

apologies if any 'over sensitive soul' says this subject is covered under another thread but it is important and the link only appeared today and I could not seem to see anything recent

External Link/Members Only

will it affect AW and UKP or just porn sites 

[Marmalade]

I suspect this sort of thing is fuelled by politicians desperate to suggest they are “doing something”.

Sex and drugs are the work of the devil, whereas Instagram is eligible for redemption.

But seriously, UKP isn’t porn. That would need to be a separate war-cry I think. Like if a whole group of Feminazi politicians all managed to set fire to their tampon strings at once.

[Marmalade]

Hidden Image/Members Only

[SamOmar]

While I think this is great, clips can be sent through messaging apps amongst other ways. I hope what it will achieve is less children looking at extreme things.

[ManOFSteel]

A lot of people will lose a lot of money... whereeas VPN sales will go through the roof.

[Colston36]

I suspect this sort of thing is fuelled by politicians desperate to suggest they are “doing something”.

Sex and drugs are the work of the devil, whereas Instagram is eligible for redemption.

But seriously, UKP isn’t porn. That would need to be a separate war-cry I think. Like if a whole group of Feminazi politicians all managed to set fire to their tampon strings at once.

Or like the cow in Bristol who wants to close strip clubs - against the wishes of the girls. The world of politics has gone mad. We now have have "Digital Economy Minister Chris Philp". Get a proper fucking job, wanker!

[Doc Holliday]

A lot of people will lose a lot of money...

Who will lose money?

[JayEZ2K]

The Online Safety Bill is expected to be introduced to parliament over the next few months... Children's safety groups have long been calling for age verification on porn sites... ... Similar measures were proposed previously but dropped in 2019.
... But think tank the Adam Smith Institute (ASI) said the report "fails to alleviate the gigantic threats posed by the draft Online Safety Bill to freedom of speech, privacy and innovation".

So it could be dropped. But of course, it could pass as well.

Ultimately there are several concerns:
1) Privacy. Nobody's ID should be available to all these sketchy porn sites. The government nor anyone else should be able to track porn site viewing to individuals.
2) Implementation. Just think of what an annoying failure these mandated cookie preference pop-ups have been.
3) Freedom of Speech. All types of non-porn sites could be falsely labeled as adult content to restrict their ability to view. For example, profanity. We've already seen unequal, biased, political-based censorship on social media websites under the guise of "fake news", being "dangerous", depicting violence, etc (by Facebook and Twitter).
4) Innovation (and economics). Onlyfans was one of the most innovative companies to come out of the UK in the past couple of years, but was regulated into a shadow of its former self. Now there are other sites that are taking its former clients, and taking income that would have been generated for the UK.

[Doc Holliday]

So it could be dropped. But of course, it could pass as well.

It will almost certainly pass in due course (possibly with revisions) as did the previous Act in 2017. The problem was that by 2019 they still hadn't found a way to implement it to overcome the issues it raised, so the Act was repealed and has been replaced with this new one.

I think there was also some legal issue with Europe at the time and whilst that may no longer exist, all the other problems, especially around privacy and security of data held by the verification companies, are still there? The principle of protecting children is sound. Being able to satisfactorily achieve that is another matter.

Watch this space.

[chrishornx]

But seriously, UKP isn’t porn. That would need to be a separate war-cry I think. Like if a whole group of Feminazi politicians all managed to set fire to their tampon strings at once.

I would hope you are right but these buggers can be awkward

[berksboy]

"The principle of protecting children is sound" That should be up to the parents to sort out not the government.

[pewpewpew]

Who will lose money?

the people who sign up to dodgy age verification services. What are you going to do? Tell the police that someone stole your porno money?

[anotherwoody69]

If my server is based out of the UK and I run say for example Xhampster, then WTF are the UK government going to do to block access?

Most teenagers these days know more about browsing the net and different applications than the collective "adults" in the UK. So all they will do is set up and run a VPN if local internet providers try to block things.

Pointless bill, ill thought out and simply there for grandstanding MP's. Muppets, the lot of them.

[lillythesavage]

If my server is based out of the UK and I run say for example Xhampster, then WTF are the UK government going to do to block access?

Most teenagers these days know more about browsing the net and different applications than the collective "adults" in the UK. So all they will do is set up and run a VPN if local internet providers try to block things.

Pointless bill, ill thought out and simply there for grandstanding MP's. Muppets, the lot of them.

Job creation and money behind it  .

Like having to pay for a LTF the day before flying, just test them before they board the plane ffs, if they have not left enough time, then stop them boarding, but no money in that.

[myothernameis]

Something was suppose to come into affect, early on in the year.  But looks like there were teething problems which halted the bill in Parliament being implemented

[myothernameis]

While I think this is great, clips can be sent through messaging apps amongst other ways. I hope what it will achieve is less children looking at extreme things.

Wonder if Youtube, will be part of the online safety bill, as we all know there some tasty stuff, to view, and even content just as pornographic as porn movies 

 

[lillythesavage]

Wonder if Youtube, will be part of the online safety bill, as we all know there some tasty stuff, to view, and even content just as pornographic as porn movies

You have to be logged in to view it though, is there age verification on sign up?

[myothernameis]

You have to be logged in to view it though, is there age verification on sign up?

Dont think there is, but guess maybe YouTube might have to change this

[elnukky]

Wouldn't it be better to put more effort into protecting children from predators? This is a thinly veiled attempt to increase surveillance state.

[JamesKW]

A lot of people will lose a lot of money... whereeas VPN sales will go through the roof.

Exactly,the customers they are likley to lose are the old ones who wish to remain anonymous,youngsters can all get around this sort of stuff anyway.

[JamesKW]

Who will lose money?

The site will lose number of users (probably older customers,see above post) which will mean advertisers will either leave or want reduced rates.So the site loses out.

[NelsonH]

Apparently the test for being over 18 will be having a credit card.

So what stops a young teen making a note of his parents credit car details and just keying them in?

[RedKettle]

Apparently the test for being over 18 will be having a credit card.

So what stops a young teen making a note of his parents credit car details and just keying them in?

That is like saying we want to make murder illegal but no point as somebody might stab a victim when nobody is looking. 

You have to decide whether the law itself is right. Whilst inconvenient for me I think it is right to restrict the viewing of porn by young people. Just because that is difficult does not mean we should not try.

[RedKettle]

The site will lose number of users (probably older customers,see above post) which will mean advertisers will either leave or want reduced rates.So the site loses out.

That bothers me not one little bit.

[Doc Holliday]

The site will lose number of users (probably older customers,see above post) which will mean advertisers will either leave or want reduced rates.So the site loses out.

Firstly the commercial porn sites are a huge global market and this affects only 'viewers' from the UK. That then assumes that huge numbers of Brits, who currently watch online porn will suddenly stop should age verification be introduced. Cannot see that happening? They will either use VPN's or simply verify their age using one of the processes set up last time.

External Link/Members Only  Note Mindgeeks involvement. Since that article Mindgeek has now partnered with Yoti.

There will be extra costs for the porn providers, but I cannot see it ultimately making much difference to their bottom line?

When this fell through last time the age verification companies began legal proceedings against the government, hoping to seek compensation for their investment. I assume they will be ready to go again should this come to pass?

[Doc Holliday]

You have to decide whether the law itself is right. Whilst inconvenient for me I think it is right to restrict the viewing of porn by young people. Just because that is difficult does not mean we should not try.

Agreed and this will certainly reduce incidents of young people viewing porn by accident ,which is good, but I simply cannot see it stopping most from still accessing it by choice. I hope I am wrong?

[Doc Holliday]

"The principle of protecting children is sound" That should be up to the parents to sort out not the government.

That's a valid argument but clearly isn't working.

[Proton]

Too many banks have had their customers details stolen, all around the world the hacker will be having a field day competing with each other
 Just a thought Will the escort websites fall under this proposed legislation

[JayEZ2K]

Apparently the test for being over 18 will be having a credit card.

Lebara requires a video of my face, which they say they immediately delete. However, companies have an extensive history of losing sensitive information such as this, so they potentially have my face matched to extensive texts, calls, and searchers for sex workers. 

On top of that, AdultWork doesn't even work on my Lebara phone! So this is another example of what a poorly implemented failure these "childproof" restrictions are!


It's also an example of money lost since there are times I can't access the site. The other example is OnlyFans which banned hardcore porn on their platform, to which I responded by deleting my subscription. Performers transfered their hardcore scenes to other sites like ManyVids which is based in Canada... so now Canada gets my money.


Using a credit card/ID to browse porn is a timebomb for doxing individuals for viewing tranny porn, gay porn, anal, etc.

[puntingking]

the uk government did not need to go through with this. isn't that what parental controls for?   you may say well yes, but some young children who end up viewing these sites don't have parents that care for their wellbeing.
well ok, (not only will this make the parental controls system on devices obsolete), but the state are taking away parental responsibilities away from parents and the freedom for people to live our lives freely without systems being implemented on our daily lives.



that is my opinion anyway. 

[lillythesavage]

the uk government did not need to go through with this. isn't that what parental controls for?   you may say well yes, but some young children who end up viewing these sites don't have parents that care for their wellbeing.
well ok, (not only will this make the parental controls system on devices obsolete), but the state are taking away parental responsibilities away from parents and the freedom for people to live our lives freely without systems being implemented on our daily lives.



that is my opinion anyway. 

Parents are very different from most of ours, not all but quite a few, affording children is not in the equation, let alone controlling them, it is always somebodies fault, never their own. 

[myothernameis]

the uk government did not need to go through with this. isn't that what parental controls for?

If anyone plays online games, like call of duty, which has a age rating of 18, which the shops that sell these games, enforces with asking for id

But parent go out there and buy the game for there kids, and let them play online, which seems to be ok with, sony & xbox.   A few years back, there was anger from a parent, at the amount of swearing aimed at there kid, who believe was around 12 years old.  The parents were horrified at the gamers swearing at there kids, but it was pointed out to the parents, why is your kid playing a 18 age related game

Seems there no real law inn covering this, but the minute the game is sold, then the responsibility lies with the parents.  But lets look a this in another way, so the parent buys an adult dvd, and allows there 12 year son to watch the video, the parent going to be in trouble with the police

[Marmalade]

What regulators fail to address is that the overarching and dominant porn market is actually only a “niche” when it comes to sexuality. Instead of trying to scale down porn sex, they should scale up dishings of the most regular kind of sex, which is heterosexual, usually with a degree of mutual affection and attraction, missionary position as default with cunnilingus and fellatio as the side dishes.

There is almost zero explicit depiction of regular sex in movies or television. Blue is the Warmest Colour probably only managed it by being about lesbian relationships. Porn sex is not normal mainstream sex enjoyed by most couples. Nor is the placing of convenient objects to obscure the accidental or intentional view of sex organs by one’s partner.

If the nation’s youngsters are overly drawn to pornographic sex the various censors and forms of censorship have only themselves to blame: not for failing to censor Pornhub and all the variants: but by pruriently removing all normal, mainstream healthy sex as enjoyed by a vast majority of happy couples up and down the country.

[RedKettle]

If anyone plays online games, like call of duty, which has a age rating of 18, which the shops that sell these games, enforces with asking for id

But parent go out there and buy the game for there kids, and let them play online, which seems to be ok with, sony & xbox.   A few years back, there was anger from a parent, at the amount of swearing aimed at there kid, who believe was around 12 years old.  The parents were horrified at the gamers swearing at there kids, but it was pointed out to the parents, why is your kid playing a 18 age related game

Seems there no real law inn covering this, but the minute the game is sold, then the responsibility lies with the parents.  But lets look a this in another way, so the parent buys an adult dvd, and allows there 12 year son to watch the video, the parent going to be in trouble with the police

I think that misses the point. The rating on a film is us as a society taking a view on what children should be exposed to. It sets a standard and helps parents know about what is in the film. They can if they wish go on the BBFC site and read incredibly helpful guidance on each film. It is helping parents to exercise parental control.

Parents may decide to let their children watch a film whilst younger, that might be good parenting based on their knowledge of their child or just lazy sloppy parenting. It is their choice.

With porn I believe that as a democratic society we should take a view on whether it is right to let children watch it. Personally I believe it is harmful and we should say so. That ruling or law again tells parents what society believes and it will help them exercise control by restricting the ability of children to view it. We all know many will get around that, but it is still right to set high standards. Some parents will make a decision that it is ok for their kids and wil help them, or again just not care. That is again ok, it is parental choice, albeit I think the wrong one.

Personally I think some people are muddling up the impact on us and also how effective restrictions will be with whether it is right to allow children unrestricted access to porn.

[RedKettle]

What regulators fail to address is that the overarching and dominant porn market is actually only a “niche” when it comes to sexuality. Instead of trying to scale down porn sex, they should scale up dishings of the most regular kind of sex, which is heterosexual, usually with a degree of mutual affection and attraction, missionary position as default with cunnilingus and fellatio as the side dishes.

There is almost zero explicit depiction of regular sex in movies or television. Blue is the Warmest Colour probably only managed it by being about lesbian relationships. Porn sex is not normal mainstream sex enjoyed by most couples. Nor is the placing of convenient objects to obscure the accidental or intentional view of sex organs by one’s partner.

If the nation’s youngsters are overly drawn to pornographic sex the various censors and forms of censorship have only themselves to blame: not for failing to censor Pornhub and all the variants: but by pruriently removing all normal, mainstream healthy sex as enjoyed by a vast majority of happy couples up and down the country.

Whilst I agree with the proposed law I think you make an excellent point, very well expressed as usual. I guess part of the issue is the film rating system, which I support, but which probably drives film makers to cut sex scenes to achieve a lower rating. 

[lillythesavage]

Whilst I agree with the proposed law I think you make an excellent point, very well expressed as usual. I guess part of the issue is the film rating system, which I support, but which probably drives film makers to cut sex scenes to achieve a lower rating.

It is a good point, and comes right back to parental control, which today seems to be totally over the top or non existent in the main.

Film sex scenes are very tame, even 18 films, which mostly get the rating for violence, maybe lowering the criteria in non violent films and giving 15 ratings for sex scenes might help with some exposure, but most have already been exposed to the hard stuff by then. 

In my day it was only magazines you could get your soon to be sticky hands on, very different from the internet, you did the real learning in the park, bike sheds, locker rooms or bunking off school when parents were at work, with girls your own age who were learning too, gently and clumsily usually, pounding their arse with your hands behind your head was a long way down the line.

[DrGFreeman]

I can't see this happening any more than the last time they floated this silly idea.
How would the UK implement it unilaterally?
Pornhub for instance has offices in Toronto,  but the company is registered in Luxembourg and the servers are in Cyprus.
What you going to do- have an a banned list of websites ?

If you're worried about kids watching porn, use the blocker tools provided by your isp

[Marmalade]

Like kids don’t know how to use a vpn?? 

[PumpDump]

Eventually your Covid app will become your digital ID and will be used to verify your age on porn sites amongst many other uses.