The UK will block online porn from April

[Player Twelve]

http://www.wired.co.uk/article/porn-...erifcation-law

Online pornography in the UK is set to undergo its biggest ever change this year. The government will introduce an age-verification requirement for all pornographic websites and people wanting to use them will have to prove they are over 18.

The plans were initially announced in July 2017 with Matt Hancock, the then minister of state for digital and culture, saying the pornography block would be fully in place" by April 2018. Since then the government has been attempting to formalise the process of how websites should apply an age-verification system and establish a regulator for doing so.

During the course of changes, critics have hit back saying the changes will be dangerous to internet freedoms in the UK. Jerry Barnett, the founder of campaign group Sex & Censorship, told WIRED in 2017 that the legislation would “fundamentally change the internet in the UK and possibly globally”.

The changes for online pornography are being introduced under the Digital Economy Act. For the first time, he added, the government would have the power to block websites, en-masse, without court orders. “This is a first in a democracy,” he continued. “Although this appears to be just about protecting children from porn, it isn't. It will block any site that doesn't comply with strict UK content rules.”

How age verification will be deployed
There are multiple ways that age verification could work under the new plans, but the government is very much leaving this up to the industry to decide. It has been mooted that a system that uses credit card authorisation, such as gambling websites do could be introduced.

MindGeek is one of the companies developing a "solution" for age verification on pornography websites. On its website it delivers a "world-class portfolio of entertainment experiences and IT solutions". It does not mention it owns some of the world's biggest porn sites, including Pornhub.

For age verification, MindGeek has developed AgeID. The company says it expects to sign-up 25 million people in the UK its system. According to Sky News, people will be able to login to AgeID with an email address and password, then use a third party system to check their age. AgeID will log which pornography websites are visited and store them.

There are concerns such a system could create giant databases of people accessing pornography. Pornhub, which is the world's most-visited pornographic website, had 64 million visitors per day in 2017, and the UK is its second biggest traffic driver. Such a database would be an obvious target for hackers, hoping to hold pornography sites to ransom. Just ask the owners of Ashley Madison, who recently offered customers $11 million in compensation after their details were published online by hackers.

A widely circulated press statement from MindGeek says its AgeID system has been "built from the ground up" and has "the principle of privacy by design at its core" and will fulfill the requirements of the upcoming General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

It's expected MindGeek will allow third-party websites to use its AgeID tool to help them with their age verification requirements. "A wide variety of online age verification arrangements currently exist and so we expect that providers of online pornography will be able to choose the appropriate solution to meet their specific needs," the Department for Culture Media and Sport has said in a statement.

How will the UK porn block and age verification be enforced
After a large amount of indecision, at the start of February 2018 it was confirmed the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) would become the regulator for age verification. The body is currently responsible for setting the age restrictions (PG, 12A, 18, etcetera) on films broadcast in the UK. It can make recommendations to cut content, or deny a certificate and reject the media’s right to circulate in the UK.

Censoring the internet is, naturally, somewhat more complex. If a site is run on funds supplied via massive payment providers, such as Visa, those ancillary services could be notified their client is breaking the law, and ordered to terminate payments. Internet service providers could also be made to block sites that fail to comply.

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Wtf lol, what is this even? Why can't they just let it be about pressing on an "I am 18 years or older" button?

[Cruor]

So glad I live in a free country unlike backwards UK and Korea who pull this kind of crap. A VPN gets right by this anyway, what's the point?

[Bigbazz]

If it actually goes through there will be proxy backdoors all round to sidestep this, won't even need a VPN.

[Deleted]

Most mobile providers in the UK already do this, you need to ring up and prove you are over 18 to access porn and gambling sites.

It's a non issue for me, takes literally 30 seconds to prove i'm over 18, sucks for the young uns though I suppose.

[Mormolyce]

I'm sure it will work perfectly. Kek.

Also, missed opportunity to title the thread "No Sex Please, We're British".

Wtf lol, what is this even?

The end goal of a conservative government. They have made their social policies clear for decades, if you're surprised by this you really have only yourself to blame.

[Deleted]

So much for conservatives and their ”free speech agenda”.

[Graeham]

It's a pretty dumb move.

Aside from the inability to actually block all porn sites that exist, most porn is completely healthy and normal to look at. It's even more hilarious when you consider how often politicians are caught up in sex scandals including being caught looking at porn during working hours. Which, conveniently, gets blamed on interns.

[Vorkreist]

This is nothing new. No need for a fake retarded title. How is porn blocked if it only requires age verification ?
You could bring up a ton of other meaningful issues regarding UK instead of pulling fake news thread titles out of your stupid ass.

[Rennadrel]

The next nanny state

[Sykol]

Why would you ever want to have to provide ID or a credit card (or anything else) to access porn? I'd rather not have to ring up some old lady every time and be like, "please, ma'am, I really need a wank. Promise I'm old enough!" Not to mention their weird database they seem to be amassing.

[sarahtasher]

So glad I live in a free country unlike backwards UK and Korea who pull this kind of crap. A VPN gets right by this anyway, what's the point?

Ah, yeah, this law is not pleasing you, so following it is optional. Gotcha.

[Deleted]

there must be a sketch show waiting phone in hand ready to go through all the genres they would like to opt into with the call handler.

[chazus]

Thread Title: UK will block online porn

Actual article: UK is creating age checks to attempt to stop underage usage.

Baity bait bait.

[Travis B]

Sounds like the NoFap movement might be getting a bunch of new followers.

[Trassk]

This is nothing new. No need for a fake retarded title. How is porn blocked if it only requires age verification ?
You could bring up a ton of other meaningful issues regarding UK instead of pulling fake news thread titles out of your stupid ass.

pretty much this, op's creating hype over a non-issue. If your adult, you just ring your service provider and they verify your over 18 and allowed to view adult content, problem solved and you just do what you can do now.

This has already been in place for a while, examples as public service providers like shops, can't view porn in starbucks, haven't been able to for years, so nothing actually changes.

[sarahtasher]

So, please folks, take note of people that casually dismiss this law because it interfere with their dates with Rosie Palm, and make a correlation between those people and the manly studs who advocate shooting people who go over the speed limit or steal 25 dollars.

[Player Twelve]

Thread Title: UK will block online porn

Actual article: UK is creating age checks to attempt to stop underage usage.

Baity bait bait.

I just copied the thread title from it partially.

[sopeonaroap]

I think most parents already try to block access to porn, so this is just another step to help them out. I don’t see an issue with it, really. I’m one of the few people here who think children shouldn’t have so much access to it.

No most parents don't. I've never met a single, well adjusted human being who thinks blocking their child from something is the best way to raise them. You tell them why they shouldn't do it, they test it out at some point anyway and move on. Make it a big deal by blocking it, it stays a big deal and leads to worse shit.

[Travis B]

So, please folks, take note of people that casually dismiss this law because it interfere with their dates with Rosie Palm, and make a correlation between those people and the manly studs who advocate shooting people who go over the speed limit or steal 25 dollars.

Not to mention all the people that supported literal cold-blooded murder in the thread about the Italian fascist who went on a killing spree against random, innocent Africans because somebody needed to "stand up" against immigration.

[Trassk]

My brothers one of these idiots who thinks its better to let government police stuff like this then taking actual responsibility for what he kids views and putting his own blocks on what they watch. He thinks censorship is better because 'won't somebody please think of the children'