Porn blocked in the UK? You probably didn’t even know the XXX age checks were happening
There's growing concern that the Government hasn't properly made Brits aware that a major online censorship scheme is about to roll out
MOST Brits have no idea that the Government will soon start forcing users to hand over personal details to access online porn.
A survey found that 66% of UK adults didn't realise a nationwide age-check scheme for watching XXX videos on the internet was rolling out in 2018.
The porn crackdown means that all adult material on the internet will be blocked by default.
And Brits will only be able to get access if they sign up to an age-verification program that involves handing over identifying information – like a passport or credit card details.
The BBFC, the UK's film regulator, will decide which websites count as smut, and will put them behind a huge censorship firewall later this year.
And it turns out that the majority of Brits are clueless about the whole thing.
"The lack of knowledge amongst the general public about the pending age verification requirements for adult content should be alarming, especially to the Government," said Stuart Lawley.
Stuart is the CEO of AVSecure, the company that commissioned the survey – and one of the firms creating age verification software that'll give you access to smut in the UK.
The porn block was originally supposed to be sent live in April this year, but a recent delay pushed the deadline back to December 2018.
"The delay of the introduction of the Digital Economy Act allows us to ensure there will be a number of different age verification providers for consumers to choose from, and who users decide to go with will affect who has access to their personal data," explained Stuart.
The Government's plan to block all porn by default in the UK has faced heavy criticism, unsurprisingly.
Speaking to The Sun earlier this month, top lawyer Myles Jackman said that there are serious dangers.
"The big risk is that the data from the user is not held securely, and that their privacy is violated when that data is hacked or breached," Jackman, who works for digital advocacy firm Open Rights Group, told us.
He said that a breach is "ridiculously likely to happen", and will affect huge swathes of the UK population.
"This is going to impact anyone who, casually or above, uses pornography for recreational purpose.
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"The imposition of age verification poses an enormous risk to your readers, in terms of their personal sexual interests being leaked onto the internet for anyone to see."
He said that if a person's sexual interests were leaked, the risks could be severe: "There's blackmail, there's suicide."
Did you realise that porn age checks were rolling out across the UK this year? Let us know in the comments.
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