How will porn age-checks work? We reveal some of the age-verification tools you’ll soon be forced to use
Porn age-checks are due to be enforced by December - these are the tools adult sites will use to confirm that you're over 18
THE TOOLS that will be used to age-check anyone who wants to watch porn online come December have been unveiled.
If you visit a XXX website, an age-verification system will ask you to confirm that you're over 18 by entering details, including either your mobile number, credit card info, or ID (like a Passport).
If you fail to verify your age, you'll be blocked from viewing the site's content.
It's all part of last year's Digital Economy Act, which (among other things) aims to protect children from accidentally viewing adult material online.
The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), a film regulator, has been picked to oversee the project.
The age-check tools shown off today are built by private companies.
The porn age-check tools that could land in December
One such system will be provided by Yoti, a digital identity app, which has been downloaded 650,000 times.
Yoti requires you to upload a selfie to its app, which it then pairs with an official document such as a passport, using facial recognition.
An adult site that uses Yoti's system will ask you to confirm your age by using the Yoti app to scan a QR code.
Yoti claims that it stores user info on its servers in encrypted form (meaning it can't access your data).
Porn-age checks – those not in favour
- "The BBFC will struggle to ensure that age verification is safe, secure and anonymous. They are powerless to ensure people's privacy" – Jim Killock, Open Rights Group.
- “Genuinely the privacy risk was so severe that if all that data were hacked they would never be taken seriously again when it came to holding private citizens’ data, whether covertly or otherwise” – Myles Jackman, lawyer.
- “The timeline is unrealistic – but beyond that, this is one of the worst proposals I have seen on digital strategy" – Dr Joss Wright, Oxford Internet Institute.
Another tool that was paraded today is a mobile verification system from VeriMe.
With it enabled on an adult site, you'll be required to enter your mobile number.
You'll then receive a text message to which you must reply by typing "verify".
This will be used to confirm that you have a live number. Upon approval you will be able to enter the site.
The process is similar to the extra verification used by banks when you make online purchases, and takes around a minute to complete.
Anonymity first
Rudd Apsey, director of the Digital Policy Alliance, said all the porn age-check tools are "anonymous".
The only info they send is that "the person trying to access an adult site is 18+" (they don't even see your specific age).
He added that "no usernames or passwords" will be required.
One age-check tool to rule all smut?
But, what remains unclear is whether the BBFC will impose one age-check tool on all adult sites.
That's because the UK government has yet to nail down all the details behind the Act.
Currently, it seems like a free-for-all, which doesn't bode well for porn consumers who browse multiple websites.
It could see you having to go through different age-verification tools every time you're after some smut.
One system that you may see on several of the biggest online XXX sites is AgeID.
That's because the company behind it, MindGeek, owns some of the leading porn providers on the web, including Pornhub, Brazzzers, and Redtube.
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With AgeID in place, anyone accessing adult websites from within the UK will be prompted to 'Verify my Age'.
This will create a "secure login" for all future access, and will let you browse all AgeID-protected sites.
Other age-check tools that were unveiled today include the use of electoral information, credit card details, and an age-verified e-passport.
The age verification scheme was originally supposed to kick off next month, but has now been pushed back to as late as December.
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