All porn sites must 'robustly' verify UK user ages by July

[whaleears]

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[Dickled]

Haven't they tried to do this before?

[myothernameis]

If this becomes a must, and with what I would call adult content in some threads, will UKP at sometime have to introduce age verification at some point

[chrishornx]

going to be very cumbersome if you have to register for every single porn site you have a look at

[akauya]

I agree with the sentiment behind this law. Protecting children from accessing explicit and, more often than not, very disturbing porn, is a noble goal. However, I believe that this particular approach is flawed and unlikely to achieve its intended objectives.

First, verifying users' ages risks exposing their privacy. Doubt it very much that many people will be happy to submit their personal data to dodgy porn sites. Would you be confident that they have robust data protection systems in place? So many issues to think about, identity theft, harassment, etc. if any of the private info gets leaked. Also, where are the porn serves located? Which country? What regulations are the in place to protect users' data?

Then we have the issue of some determined individuals (including young people who tend to be more IT savvy) who will find ways to circumvent age verification systems, such as using VPNs or other anonymization tools. What is likely to happen is that this law will drive some users to seek out alternative, unregulated sources of adult content, which could be even more harmful.

As I said earlier, noble sentiment but a difficult one to implement successfully.

[lewisjones23]

Internet porn, for all of the benefits, brought the curtain down on the golden age of porno mags

Used to be great as a teenager finding a porno mag stashed somewhere by someone

Don't see any anywhere now, apart from the odd shop on the topshelf, not that I go looking in hedges etc anymore 😂

[DastardlyDick]

As already said, it's a noble aim, but most teens will find a way round it in pretty short order. Using a VPN is the one that immediately springs to mind.

[DastardlyDick]

Internet porn, for all of the benefits, brought the curtain down on the golden age of porno mags

Used to be great as a teenager finding a porno mag stashed somewhere by someone

Yes, I remember the days when your school bag wasn't complete without at least one porno mag in it - there was quite a lively trade in them at my old school " swap you my "Penthouse" for your "Mayfair"?" 

[Trumpet]

This is already happening in the US but on a state by state basis.
Oddly enough it coincides with massive uptake on VPN’s in those states…

[PepeMAGA]

Think they should just have one pass that you can use for multiple sites.
Also go at it the other way and restrict content on children's phones

[Mr Garmin]

So, Adultwork will require you to verify your age?

[StingRay]

So, Adultwork will require you to verify your age?

So how does this work if their registered address is on Mars?

[myothernameis]

So, Adultwork will require you to verify your age?

They have already been doing this, and think around 2020 I had to verify my age, and cant remember how this did this

[myothernameis]

So how does this work if their registered address is on Mars?

If in UK law, all porn site must verify age by July, but most of these porn site are based outside of the Uk.  Now the only thing I can think of, that might happen, if these sites dont have any verification for age, they will be blocked, here in the UK

[Mr Garmin]

They have already been doing this, and think around 2020 I had to verify my age, and cant remember how this did this

I can't remember how long I've been on there, but I've never had to verify my (imaginary) age.

[Mkhelen]

Section 8.2 here covers what Ofcom consider and don't consider to be porn. This is the consultation document though, not the final guidelines, but I doubt it changed much.

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[MLawro93]

They have already been doing this, and think around 2020 I had to verify my age, and cant remember how this did this

They used to do it via using a credit card. I think they may use a third party ID verification company now, which is something Seeking and OnlyFans utilise as well. I suspect these type of companies will see an uptick in usage if this ban comes into place

[myothernameis]

Checked my AW profile, and these are the options for verification, and think I had bought credits, to verify my age



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[mr.bluesky]

Internet porn, for all of the benefits, brought the curtain down on the golden age of porno mags

Used to be great as a teenager finding a porno mag stashed somewhere by someone

Don't see any anywhere now, apart from the odd shop on the topshelf, not that I go looking in hedges etc anymore 😂

I'm surprised the men's mags like Mayfair,  Men Only etc are still going. Pretty tame by today's standards. The Internet certainly killed off the Lads mags like Nuts, Zoo and Loaded. There was an interesting documentary about the rise and fall of the lads mags on tv not so long ago. I used to buy Nuts or Zoo every week back in the day and occasionally buy Loaded every month. Models like Lucy Pinder, Keeley Hazel etc always featured in them on a regular basis and must have made a fortune from them.

[Mr Rollison]

I certainly wouldn't be keen to pass over any card details to prove my age.
As I haven't driven a car for years, my driving license is the old one without a photo. My passport is out of date.

I access pornhub sometimes for their Lovely Lilith content (mega busty role player) but less than I used too as he classic Invasion of the Living Homewrecker and Boob Cop were removed.

Fortunately, I have 20 odd Japanese Gravure dvds and 2 Milena Velba DVDs. Milk being my favourite.

Unfortunately, my 3 Pat Wynn DVDs don't play anymore and I can't seem to be able to replace them. 😭

[mr.bluesky]

I certainly wouldn't be keen to pass over any card details to prove my age.
As I haven't driven a car for years, my driving license is the old one without a photo. My passport is out of date.


Unfortunately, my 3 Pat Wynn DVDs don't play anymore and I can't seem to be able to replace them. 😭

Likewise, I have the old fashioned driving licence  (photo less) and an out of date passport 

Pat Wynn,( Auntie Jayne) now there's a blast from the past. I think I still have one of her VHS tapes somewhere, the one with Danika Collins ( aka Donna Collins) co starring in it. 

I recently went to collect a parcel and the woman behind the counter asked for some ID. I showed her my debit card. She said it had to be photo ID. I told her I didn't own anything with photo ID.
She said she could not accept my ID even though I showed her the E mail on my phone.  I told her to send the parcel back and I would claim a refund. She soon handed over the parcel to me 

[paul_tall_]

This has been talked since about 2017/18 there is im sure many reasons why this never was implemented. Unfortunately I guess this time it will be made law and time will tell how the model changes.
Given that Musk is quite vocal about UK policy and his platform allows pretty much anything then it won't be long before he gets vocal.
The larger sites have had long enough to implement options for verification so no doubt can easily turn this on on day one or just disable access from the UK
The question will be as to how the smaller sites will be policed esp if they are hosted outside the UK. Guess that the ISPs will be expected to block based on categorisation sites but that would be a blanket block and we know that categorisation of sites has not worked
Whilst there is a need to block content from minors , pornography is only a portion of the issue , very little is really being done about other harmful content, interaction of minors in chat rooms with adults, on socials etc.
Whether the recent introduction of a social media ban for under 16s in Australia works is too early to tell and only a week or so ago the Labour tech minister mentioned they were not considering a ban for social media for under 16s.

[Doc Holliday]

This has been talked since about 2017/18 there is im sure many reasons why this never was implemented. Unfortunately I guess this time it will be made law and time will tell how the model changes.

It has been made law. The consultation process has also finished and it is now being implemented in phases throughout the coming months.

[Ali Katt]

I think there's really 3 takeaways.

1) this is the ghost of the "digital economy bill" in a new form. A set of laws they've been trying to pass since the Brown years. Utterly Draconian and flawed. The critics who say it is a form of surveillance could well be right.

2) kids are much more tech savvy than their parents. Ultimately they won't find it difficult to find a work around.

3) A controversial opinion, but I think porn, particularly hardcore porn is less exciting than it's ever been. Vanilla porn being disguised as fake incest porn, women sucking off dildos, onlyfans bikini shots that are often tamer than what you see in tabloid newspapers, poorly made HD porn that is overlit with bad regrading so you end up with mannequin faces, rough sex and submissive sluts that is real tame shit bar some prescripted choking - compare it to the Jamie Gillis films of the 70s.

Porn is dull. Having sex involves jumping through more hoops than Trixie the wonder dog, maybe I'm burnt out or just bored.

[Ali Katt]

I'm surprised the men's mags like Mayfair,  Men Only etc are still going. Pretty tame by today's standards. The Internet certainly killed off the Lads mags like Nuts, Zoo and Loaded. There was an interesting documentary about the rise and fall of the lads mags on tv not so long ago. I used to buy Nuts or Zoo every week back in the day and occasionally buy Loaded every month. Models like Lucy Pinder, Keeley Hazel etc always featured in them on a regular basis and must have made a fortune from them.

I think the documentary was the dark side of the 2000s on Vice. As you said the internet killed it off, but also what nobody mentioned is work culture itself. People used to read lad mags on their break, now I doubt people have the time or they are on their phones.

[Doc Holliday]

I think there's really 3 takeaways.

1) this is the ghost of the "digital economy bill" in a new form. A set of laws they've been trying to pass since the Brown years. Utterly Draconian and flawed. The critics who say it is a form of surveillance could well be right.

2) kids are much more tech savvy than their parents. Ultimately they won't find it difficult to find a work around.

3) A controversial opinion, but I think porn, particularly hardcore porn is less exciting than it's ever been. Vanilla porn being disguised as fake incest porn, women sucking off dildos, onlyfans bikini shots that are often tamer than what you see in tabloid newspapers, poorly made HD porn that is overlit with bad regrading so you end up with mannequin faces, rough sex and submissive sluts that is real tame shit bar some prescripted choking - compare it to the Jamie Gillis films of the 70s.

Porn is dull. Having sex involves jumping through more hoops than Trixie the wonder dog, maybe I'm burnt out or just bored.

Yes, all interesting discussion points, but the reality is this is being implemented and there is no escaping this.

UKP contains pornographic images. Currently you have to be logged in to view all images and also external links, but there is no age verification for members who are able to view them.

In addition users are able to communicate by PM which is also legislated by the Act.

[akauya]

3) A controversial opinion, but I think porn, particularly hardcore porn is less exciting than it's ever been. Vanilla porn being disguised as fake incest porn, women sucking off dildos, onlyfans bikini shots that are often tamer than what you see in tabloid newspapers, poorly made HD porn that is overlit with bad regrading so you end up with mannequin faces, rough sex and submissive sluts that is real tame shit bar some prescripted choking - compare it to the Jamie Gillis films of the 70s.

Porn is dull. Having sex involves jumping through more hoops than Trixie the wonder dog, maybe I'm burnt out or just bored.

Controversial opinion indeed, I'm sure legislators would view your opinion as a prime example of desensitization to explicit content and exactly why they need to introduce such legislation.  What you consider "less exciting than it's ever been" may be extremely disturbing to young teenagers who have never had sexual relationships. I'm pretty sure exposure to such content would give them a skewed view of what a normal relationship should be. 

A common concern among parents is the easy access to extreme content (or in your words tame shit). When you couple this with toxic male influencers, like that twat Andrew Tate, who peddle weird ideas about male/female relationship dynamics, you get a very concerning cocktail of damaging ideas.

But I think discussing whether the porn we watch is boring or extreme, we're missing the point about what the law is for. Happy to be corrected, but it seems to me that the point is not to stop us adults (or fucked up adults like me) from watching whatever kind of porn we want, whether it's exciting, boring, or extreme. The purpose of this law is to prevent young people from accessing this kind of content.

Of course as I said earlier it's a noble aim but extremely difficult to implement successfully.

[Ali Katt]

Controversial opinion indeed, I'm sure legislators would view your opinion as a prime example of desensitization to explicit content and exactly why they need to introduce such legislation.  What you consider "less exciting than it's ever been" may be extremely disturbing to young teenagers who have never had sexual relationships. I'm pretty sure exposure to such content would give them a skewed view of what a normal relationship should be. 

A common concern among parents is the easy access to extreme content (or in your words tame shit). When you couple this with toxic male influencers, like that twat Andrew Tate, who peddle weird ideas about male/female relationship dynamics, you get a very concerning cocktail of damaging ideas.

But I think discussing whether the porn we watch is boring or extreme, we're missing the point about what the law is for. Happy to be corrected, but it seems to me that the point is not to stop us adults (or fucked up adults like me) from watching whatever kind of porn we want, whether it's exciting, boring, or extreme. The purpose of this law is to prevent young people from accessing this kind of content.

Of course as I said earlier it's a noble aim but extremely difficult to implement successfully.

I'm happy to accept that. I think what is extreme varies from person to person - obviously a lot of adults (not just children) can't differentiate between the actual reality behind in my example - sub/rough sex porn which often involves pre-scripted scenes like choking - this was mentioned in an interview with porn actor Terry Stephens; also not glossing over some porn is non consensual. Just saying because it is real sex, people presume it isn't in some way fake or staged.

I do agree with everything you have written. The issue I have is it is a push for bigger government control and as always I think they have it backwards. To my knowledge they never consult people directly involved in the porn industry. I also believe that the porn available is more easily accessible and more explicit than when we were younger - finding porn mags in bushes, a teenager now would find it laughable and weird, which it was.

Influencers like Andrew Tate, the so called coaches and I will even add people like Jordan Peterson - while clearly intelligent people when it comes to marketing, they are only concerned with making money and creating a playpen of largely single young men discussing dogma and rhetoric, that often doesn't reflect reality. I'm also not saying everything they say is wholly untrue.

[chadpitt]

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How will this affect punting sites

[Mkhelen]

Already a post being discussed

https://www.ukpunting.com/index.php?topic=421259.0;topicseen

[akauya]

I'm happy to accept that. I think what is extreme varies from person to person - obviously a lot of adults (not just children) can't differentiate between the actual reality behind in my example - sub/rough sex porn which often involves pre-scripted scenes like choking - this was mentioned in an interview with porn actor Terry Stephens; also not glossing over some porn is non consensual. Just saying because it is real sex, people presume it isn't in some way fake or staged.

I do agree with everything you have written. The issue I have is it is a push for bigger government control and as always I think they have it backwards. To my knowledge they never consult people directly involved in the porn industry. I also believe that the porn available is more easily accessible and more explicit than when we were younger - finding porn mags in bushes, a teenager now would find it laughable and weird, which it was.

Influencers like Andrew Tate, the so called coaches and I will even add people like Jordan Peterson - while clearly intelligent people when it comes to marketing, they are only concerned with making money and creating a playpen of largely single young men discussing dogma and rhetoric, that often doesn't reflect reality. I'm also not saying everything they say is wholly untrue.

Cheers AK, I'm glad you agree with what I said, including the fact that I'm a fucked-up individual 

I also agree with the points you made especially regarding governments passing legislation without proper consultation. Often, even when governments do carry out consultations, it's more of a lip service, as they proceed to legislate according to their pre-determined plans regardless of the feedback they receive. It often feels like they are driven by dogma rather than reason.

As for Andrew Tate and Jordan Peterson - yep, agree with that too.

[myothernameis]

How will this affect punting sites

If UKP only acted as a adult forum, so no posting videos, or photos of escorts, we should be ok, and not fall foul of requiring verification

But with adult photos being posted on this site, this might alter how this gets dealt with, so either remove the photos, and no verification required, or leave them, and we have to prove if were over 18

[Head1]

Be interesting to see what the likes of pornhub do.
We will deal with this nearer the time when things start to unfold.

[mrwhite]

If UKP only acted as a adult forum, so no posting videos, or photos of escorts, we should be ok, and not fall foul of requiring verification

But with adult photos being posted on this site, this might alter how this gets dealt with, so either remove the photos, and no verification required, or leave them, and we have to prove if were over 18

To join the site these days you need to pay (with bitcoin)

Are bitcoin age limited (eg can you only buy them with a credit card) if so then everyone has already proven their age.

Alternatively - I registered on this site in 2011 (I can't believe it is that long ago) That means I have been here for 14 years - and I didn't start punting and posting at the age of 4!

[Doc Holliday]

To join the site these days you need to pay (with bitcoin)

Are bitcoin age limited (eg can you only buy them with a credit card) if so then everyone has already proven their age.

Alternatively - I registered on this site in 2011 (I can't believe it is that long ago) That means I have been here for 14 years - and I didn't start punting and posting at the age of 4!

If only it was that simple  This Act is anything but simple 

[southcoastpunter]

To join the site these days you need to pay (with bitcoin)

Are bitcoin age limited (eg can you only buy them with a credit card) if so then everyone has already proven their age.

its pay with a card isn't it rather than a "credit" card. there are other types of card including pre-paid cards which you can (i think) get at under 18. The reason credit cards are for 18+ year old is that a debt wasn't legally enforceable if you were under 18 - not sure whether that is still the case but a number of "child" accounts (like GoHenry) give cards to under 18's!

[Doc Holliday]

Be interesting to see what the likes of pornhub do.
We will deal with this nearer the time when things start to unfold.

Pornhub are already set up to use age verification and had expected to implement this in UK some time ago, so will undoubtedly comply. VPN should bypass this. X is the one to watch and fuck knows how that will pan out 

Third party age verification for UKP would be an answer, but aside from some members having issues with this (I personally don't) there is a cost involved for yourself and potential privacy issues for you also, in setting this up with a relevant company. Not to mention general hassle. Alternatively the concept of removing all pornographic images from the forum is somewhat logistically 'mind blowing' not to mention detrimental.

With regard to time scale then legally the forum will 'technically' fall foul of the pornography section of the Act quite soon. You should maybe consider soon restricting access to non members? I know any pornography links or uploaded images are not viewable to them within posts, but the text will indicate that pornography is present. This may leave us under the radar for a bit longer?

That said UKP is likely to be a long way down the priority list for Ofcom. I think the latter will struggle with the implementation workload of this. I believe the existing staff numbers in their online safety section historically numbered circa 150 to 200.

I understand they have planned to increase this to around 400 but I suspect they will still struggle dealing with what is very complex and very much unknown territory.

Decisions will almost certainly be needed at some point 

[puntingking]

Pornhub are already set up to use age verification and had expected to implement this in UK some time ago, so will undoubtedly comply. VPN should bypass this. X is the one to watch and fuck knows how that will pan out 

Third party age verification for UKP would be an answer, but aside from some members having issues with this (I personally don't) there is a cost involved for yourself and potential privacy issues for you also, in setting this up with a relevant company. Not to mention general hassle. Alternatively the concept of removing all pornographic images from the forum is somewhat logistically 'mind blowing' not to mention detrimental.

With regard to time scale then legally the forum will 'technically' fall foul of the pornography section of the Act quite soon. You should maybe consider soon restricting access to non members? I know any pornography links or uploaded images are not viewable to them within posts, but the text will indicate that pornography is present. This may leave us under the radar for a bit longer?

That said UKP is likely to be a long way down the priority list for Ofcom. I think the latter will struggle with the implementation workload of this. I believe the existing staff numbers in their online safety section historically numbered circa 150 to 200.

I understand they have planned to increase this to around 400 but I suspect they will still struggle dealing with what is very complex and very much unknown territory.

Decisions will almost certainly be needed at some point 

i have got a massive issue with this if privacy is not adhered to.

[puntingking]

I think this rule is more aimed at the big porn giants such as pornhub.
I think ukp would be overlooked anyway if they dont make changes.

I mean its one thing thinking that a 15 year old somewhere is accessing pornhub.
What person thinks a 15 year old will attempt to sign up to this site 

[Ali Katt]

I think this rule is more aimed at the big porn giants such as pornhub.
I think ukp would be overlooked anyway if they dont make changes.

I mean its one thing thinking that a 15 year old somewhere is accessing pornhub.
What person thinks a 15 year old will attempt to sign up to this site 

The porn giants are hosted outside the UK and the companies are often set up in different countries like Czech Republic or Netherlands. I think they can circumvent it by simply only being accessible by VPN.

[Doc Holliday]

The porn giants are hosted outside the UK and the companies are often set up in different countries like Czech Republic or Netherlands. I think they can circumvent it by simply only being accessible by VPN.

They have a choice of blocking access entirely from a UK IP address or throwing up a login page which will require you to have an account which is age verified. Users outside the UK or users in UK using a VPN will not get that block.

However the porn giants will lose a lot of traffic as a result of not introducing the age verification route, so I would expect them to comply and finally set it by July to maximise traffic to their sites.

[Malvolio]

Any ideas about Twitter?  Not a porn site as such, but you can watch full-length pornos on it.

[Doc Holliday]

Any ideas about Twitter?  Not a porn site as such, but you can watch full-length pornos on it.

Yes the Act applies to all Social Media platforms and says they must comply with all it entails, which includes pornography access.

Will Musk do so? Watch this space ..... 

[puntingking]

Surely mobile companies doing this is enough.
Broadband companies should do this.
It should not be the website responsibility.

Everytime i get a new phone on a new network, i have to call them up to confirm i am over 18.

They shouldnt (even though they are) be making adults who are not responsible for somebody elses kids pay the price.

[puntingking]

Yes the Act applies to all Social Media platforms and says they must comply with all it entails, which includes pornography access.

Will Musk do so? Watch this space ..... 

Do ukp count as porn?
I rarely see any porn directly on this site without going to completly another website.

Maybe, just maybe ukp may not be affected by this

[Doc Holliday]

Do ukp count as porn?
I rarely see any porn directly on this site without going to completly another website.

Maybe, just maybe ukp may not be affected by this

I refer to Mkhelen's post above

Section 8.2 here covers what Ofcom consider and don't consider to be porn. This is the consultation document though, not the final guidelines, but I doubt it changed much.

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Pornography harmful to children and requiring age verification includes "Content depicting full frontal nudity or depicting genitals, breasts or buttocks to elicit sexual arousal"

There are therefore a huge number of images on UKP that are deemed pornographic.

You can in theory provide an external link to pornographic images hosted elsewhere, eg Pornhub and AW, but you also have the responsibility to ensure that the hosting site is fully compliant with the Act and eg has age verification in place.

[Doc Holliday]

You can in theory provide an external link to pornographic images hosted elsewhere, eg Pornhub and AW, but you also have the responsibility to ensure that the hosting site is fully compliant with the Act and eg has age verification in place.

On that note I notice this with regard to AW. Currently voluntary but presumably compulsory before July.

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[puntingking]

we will have to wait and see what the owners of this site decide to do regarding age verification.

The more hoops new/existing members have to go through to maintain or get their membership mean that less members will join or stay on this forum.

Currently one big hoop for new members is a yearly fee payable by bitcoin which already create a barrier to join this forum.
If the owners of this site have to also add age verification then this will add another barrier for members to join.
It could spell disaster if things are not planned or done accordingly. I will watch with interest. 

[Mkhelen]

When reading the article from OFCOM it's clearly states any text is allowed it's just pictures and videos that have to be to a underwear catalogue standard bikinis or lingerie only no bits out

[RandomGuy99]

Probably a good idea as it does normalise violent behaviour towards women

BBC News - Ban misogynistic online porn, review to say
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