Online pornography: age verification

This Library Briefing Paper looks at age verification for online pornography.

Age verification (AV) for access to online pornography was due to come into force from 15 July 2019.

Part 3 of the Digital Economy Act 2017 set out the framework for AV. According to the Government, AV would protect children from “distressing or unrealistic images of sex” that could harm their emotional and psychological development.

On 16 October 2019, the Secretary of State announced that Part 3 of the 2017 Act would not be commenced and that the objectives of the Act would instead be delivered through the Government’s proposed regulatory regime for tackling online harms.

Comment

AV had been welcomed by organisations working to protect children. However critics raised concerns about:

• data security and privacy;
• freedom of expression;
• avoiding AV by using virtual private networks (VPNs) or the dark web.