New, robust age-verification of pornography in the UK

The UK Government has recently introduced long overdue laws requiring robust age-verification of online pornography in the UK.  From July 25th, age-verification will be required that aims to prevent under-18s accessing pornography.  Previously, many pornography websites required a simple box-ticking to confirm age, which rather demonstrated the naivety and disconnect of the government.  The introduction of age-verification is welcome and HPFSS fully supports barriers to children accessing harmful material.  

We acknowledge that implementing this ban will be nuanced, there are seven flavours of age-verification websites can choose from, but it is inconceivable in the face of the known harms that tech companies are not held responsible for preventing children accessing pornographic content.  Too often, cynicism around the difficulties encountered in regulating technology or an empty citation of lack of evidence proving harm slows action.  In this case, though age-verification may not stop all younger people accessing pornography, the preventable harm is so worthwhile that we support the government’s efforts.  The government’s action also provides a positive backdrop for the future consideration of the role of social media in young people’s wellbeing.

Lastly, if you were looking for further insights about the harms of pornography, we recommend you watch this powerful talk from Dr Mandy Sanchez of Culture-Reframed who talks about growing up in a porn culture.  Check out the video here.