The UK Will Soon Keep a Permanent Record of Everyone Who Watches Porn

guest · Apr 18, 2019

Why the UK's porn block will backfire spectacularly
Opinion: Censorship won't stop teens from bypassing age checks and will only show up the lawmakers behind the changes
April 18, 2019
https://www.zdnet.com/article/why-the-uks-porn-block-will-backfire-spectacularly/

Likely met with many eye rolls across the region -- both young and old -- from July, if you are a visitor from the UK to a porn website these domains will be responsible for checking that you are over 18, the legal age for viewing adult content.

The UK Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport said that such checks will be "vigorous" and simply ticking a birthday box will not be enough.
Instead, scanned copies of ID such as a passport, driving license, or credit cards can be used for verification. Failing that, you can wander red-faced into a newsagent and buy what has been dubbed a "porn pass" -- a verification system passed on from porn vendor to your friendly neighborhood shopkeeper.

Government officials may think that implementing a geoblock and connected ID verification check on pornography websites is a way to protect kids [...]
They are not going to be stopped by an ill-thought-out, location-based verification check which can be bypassed in a few clicks.
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Daveski17 · Apr 18, 2019

Quick, Blunder Woman, to the Blundermobile and the smoke and mirrors! I mean, if you're going to leave just get on with it. Nobody will notice, honest.

Socio · Apr 18, 2019

I guess the bright side to all the censorship, spying and data leaching is that it is driving more and more people to seek and develop better and more powerful methods of maintaining privacy, hopefully governments and big tech will get exactly what they are asking for and be completely shut out peoples online lives.

guest · Apr 20, 2019

Porn Regulators Powerless Against British Teens
April 19, 2019
https://gizmodo.com/porn-regulators-powerless-against-horny-british-teens-1834171215

According to the Telegraph, the BBFC conceded that VPNs, or Virtual Private Networks, will let internet users sidestep the age-verification process.
Addressing the possibility that kids will use VPNs to watch porn, the BBFC reportedly said that age-verification tech is “not a silver bullet.”

“Determined teenagers will find ways to access pornography,” a BBFC spokesman told the Telegraph. “However, it will mean young children can no longer stumble across porn on commercial pornographic websites.”

VPNhub is hardly the only VPN available if it does, in fact, prevent users under 18 from utilizing it. And aside from avoiding the public networks, experts reportedly predict there will be a black market for the over-the-counter cards and digital codes that people will be required to obtain to prove they are old enough to watch porn.
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guest · Jun 4, 2019

mood said: ↑

UK Announces Introduction of Online Pornography Age Checks in July
April 17, 2019
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/ne...ion-of-online-pornography-age-checks-in-july/
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UK gov's porn block could be delayed, again
June 3, 2019
https://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/3076696/porn-block-delay-dns-encryption

Anyway, the latest whisperings that things might not be working out as planned comes via The Daily Star which reports government officials acknowledging that Mozilla and Google's plans to introduce DNS encryption to Firefox and Chrome respectively could put a spanner in the works.

"The age verification measures… although those are not directly affected [by DNS encryption] it does effect enforcement of access to non-compliant websites," said Mark Hoe, from the government's National Cyber Security Centre, in a talk at the ISP Association's annual conference.

"So, whereas we had previously envisaged that ISPs would be able to block access to non-compliant sites, [those] using DNS filtering techniques don't provide a way around that."
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guest · Jun 4, 2019

The idea was stupid from the start, it won't last long.

trott3r · Jun 4, 2019

I was hoping they were too dumb to realise.
Who knows how more draconian they might get to achieve this.

zapjb · Jun 4, 2019

trott3r said: ↑

I was hoping they were too dumb to realise.
Who knows how more draconian they might get to achieve this.
Click to expand...

They are too dumb. One of their kids told them. I'd bet that really happened.

guest · Jun 14, 2019

UK gov's porn block is a privacy disaster waiting to happen, says new report
Who knew?
June 14, 2019
https://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/3077441/porn-block-privacy-disaster-org

[...] a new report from the Open Rights Group (ORG) has highlighted yet more problems: this time in BBFC age verification certificate standards and data protection.

"Due to the sensitive nature of age verification data, there needs to be a higher standard of protection than the baseline which is offered by data protection legislation," said ORG director Jim Killock. Surprise, surprise: there isn't.
"The BBFC's standard is supposed to deliver this. However, it is a voluntary standard, which offers little information about the level of data protection being offered and provides no means of redress if companies fail to live up to it," he continued.

As well as being a voluntary certification, there are no penalties for those that sign up to the standard, then fail to meet the required level of competence. Worse, given the standard was only published in April, it's doubtful that anybody will have time to thoroughly apply it before next month.
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guest · Jun 20, 2019

UK's age verification system for online porn to be delayed indefinitely
A premature end
June 20, 2019
https://www.techspot.com/news/80590-uk-age-verification-system-online-porn-delayed-indefinitely.html

What just happened? The UK’s long-running campaign to introduce an age-verification system for online pornography has come to an end before it started. Just weeks before it was due to launch, it appears the system is being delayed indefinitely.

According to a Sky News source, the UK's Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Secretary, Jeremy Wright, will announce the delay later today in Parliament.
Sky News writes that the latest delay is due to the DCMS failing to notify the European Commission of important details, as it is required to do. When reached for comment by the Guardian, a government official “did not deny” that the system had been put on permanent hold.
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stapp · Jun 20, 2019

~Off topic post removed

solitarios · Jun 20, 2019

I think it's a very good state policy. Hopefully it will be regulated in that way in all countries. The Internet is not safe even for adults!

guest · Jul 15, 2019

Porn block: Margot James 'extremely sorry' for delay
July 15, 2019
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-48990991

It is designed to force pornography websites to verify users are over 18.
But the law has been delayed twice - most recently because the UK government failed to properly notify European regulators.

"I'm extremely sorry that there has been a delay," Ms James told the BBC. "I know it sounds incompetent."
She added: "Mistakes do happen, and I'm terribly sorry that it happened in such an important area,"
'A fox in charge of the hen house'
Some have also questioned whether one of the main providers of age verification software has a potential conflict of interest.
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pandorax · Jul 15, 2019

I can't see the corelation between keeping a permanent report and verifying the underage.

guest · Jul 15, 2019

pandorax said: ↑

I can't see the corelation between keeping a permanent report and verifying the underage.
Click to expand...

#1
One provision was designed to prevent young people from accessing pornography; it required visitors to porn sites to prove they are over 18 years old.
Under the new law, online porn sites are threatened with a fine of £250,000 ($335,000) or 5 percent of their annual profits if they are caught failing to verify the age of any of their users.
[...]
But here’s what worries cybersecurity experts: All these options would create a permanent record indicating that a user had visited a porn site. They could possibly even record the porn that the visitor had watched.
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pandorax · Jul 15, 2019

How can they be sure that user is underage?

guest · Sep 11, 2019

Australian House Committee to look into age verification for porn
New inquiry becomes latest front in the culture war from the Australian government
September 11, 2019
https://www.zdnet.com/article/australian-house-committee-to-look-into-age-verification-for-porn/

Australia is once again deciding to follow in the tracks of the United Kingdom, with the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs to look into age verification for online pornography and online wagering.

The terms of reference for the inquiry state that it will be looking into age verification under the auspices of protecting children online.
The committee will look into "the potential benefits of further online age verification requirements, including to protect children from potential harm, and business and non-government organisations from reputation, operational and legal risks," the terms state.
The terms of reference explicitly call out the United Kingdom's proposed porn age checks, which were set to come into effect by July 15 but were later shelved.
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guest · Oct 16, 2019

British government scraps plan to force age-verification on porn sites
Critics had questioned effectiveness of plan and its implications for privacy
October 16, 2019
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/britain-pornography-1.5313093

Britain has dropped plans to demand age verification for people viewing pornography after concluding it would be better to help companies limit access to adult content, the digital and media minister responsible said on Wednesday.

Under plans announced in April, commercial providers of online pornography would have needed to check that its users were 18 or over, and websites that broke the law would be blocked or have their payment services withdrawn.
The scheme, which would have made Britain the first country to bring in age verification for online pornography, was supposed to launch in June but was delayed. Nicky Morgan, the secretary of state for digital, culture, media and sport in Boris Johnson's government, said the proposals had now been ditched.

The plan was initially introduced as part of the Digital Economy Act, legislation passed by Theresa May's Conservative government in 2017, but the desire to require customers to opt-in to accessing adult sites was originally promoted by her predecessor, David Cameron.
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BBC: UK's controversial 'porn blocker' plan dropped

In a written statement issued on Wednesday, Ms Morgan said the government would not be "commencing Part 3 of the Digital Economy Act 2017 concerning age verification for online pornography".
Instead, she said, porn providers would be expected to meet a new "duty of care" to improve online safety. This will be policed by a new online regulator "with strong enforcement powers to deal with non-compliance".

"This course of action will give the regulator discretion on the most effective means for companies to meet their duty of care," she added.

OCL, one of the firms offering age verification tools, was not happy about the decision.
"It is shocking that the government has now done a U-turn and chosen not to implement [this]," said chief executive Serge Acker.
"There is no legitimate reason not to implement legislation which has been on the statue books for two years and was moments away from enactment this summer. [...]"
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deBoetie · Oct 16, 2019

It's more like it is now subsumed under a much wider scope, with a new regulator and unknown legislation.

Note that "duty of care" could be a far more difficult compliance requirement for the providers than the current attempts were, and potentially open up the companies for very unclear liabilities. At least with the old legislation - rubbish as it was - the box could be ticked fairly easily by the industry. The legislation is more likely to apply to social media sites which were not covered by the original Act.

Minimalist · Oct 28, 2019

Australia wants to use face-matching to verify people downloading porn

The UK might have ditched plans for an age filter on online porn, but Australia is going all-in with a new proposal that could require internet users to verify their identity in a face-matching database before viewing pornography.
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https://www.cnet.com/news/australia-face-verification-service-proposed-for-online-porn-age-filter/

trott3r · Oct 28, 2019

Minimalist said: ↑

Australia wants to use face-matching to verify people downloading porn

https://www.cnet.com/news/australia-face-verification-service-proposed-for-online-porn-age-filter/
Click to expand...

Which will no doubt push people to download porn from illegal sources without verification instead of their legal producers.

guest · Jan 25, 2020

mood said: ↑

British government scraps plan to force age-verification on porn sites
October 16, 2019
BBC: UK's controversial 'porn blocker' plan dropped
Click to expand...

'Porn block' companies seek £3m in damages
January 24, 2020
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-51235675

Culture Secretary Baroness Morgan scrapped the scheme in October 2019 amid a wave of privacy concerns.

AgeChecked, VeriMe, AVYourself and AVSecure are seeking over £3m in damages from the government.
They have lodged a judicial review with the High Court to review the lawfulness of the decision to axe the scheme.
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Krusty · Mar 5, 2020

Porn age filter for Australia recommended by parliamentary committee

Australians may have to verify they are over 18 before watching porn if an age filter proposal moves ahead.

Parliament's Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs has recommended mandatory age verification be used before viewers can access online pornography and some forms of online gaming.

This follows an inquiry that looked at whether age checks could protect young people from being exposed to forms of disturbing content online.

"The evidence was clear that exposure to online pornography is associated with terrible harms to young people's health, education, relationships, and wellbeing," the committee chair, LNP MP Andrew Wallace, said in a statement.

The inquiry gained attention in late 2019 when the Department of Home Affairs suggested a proposed facial recognition tool could be used to verify age for porn viewers.

The face verification service, which is not yet operational, will check facial images against official identity documents, such as a driver's licence.
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https://www.abc.net.au/news/science...online-porn-recommended-in-australia/12028870

Ultimately, a variety of age verification approaches were canvassed by the committee, including checks based on government-issued ID, consumer information such as consumer credit databases and biometric data.

But it stopped short of proposing a specific method for determining people's age on porn sites, and said any tool should minimise the retention of personal information to avoid creating a "honeypot of sensitive data".

The committee recommended the eSafety commissioner create a "roadmap" for the creation of an age filter within 12 months.

It also directed the Government's Digital Transformation Agency to create a standard for online age verification, and raised the possibility third-party providers could be involved in offering such services.
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guest · Jul 10, 2020

France to introduce controversial age verification system for adult websites
July 9, 2020
https://www.politico.eu/article/fra...cation-system-for-adult-pornography-websites/

The French Parliament unanimously agreed on Thursday to introduce a nationwide age verification system for pornography websites, months after President Emmanuel Macron pledged to protect children against such content.

Macron made the protection of children against adult content online a high-profile issue well before the coronavirus crisis hit. In January, tech companies, internet services providers and the adult movies industry signed a voluntary charter, pledging to roll out tools to help ensure minors don’t have access to pornographic content.
In order to enforce the law, the French audiovisual regulator CSA will be granted new powers to audit and sanction companies that do not comply — sanctions could go as far as blocking access to the websites in France with a court order.
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guest · Jul 20, 2020

UK government faces court on ‘porn ban’ AV u-turn, as France and China both manage to pull it off
July 17, 2020
https://www.telemediaonline.co.uk/u...-france-and-china-both-manage-to-pull-it-off/

A challenge on the legality of the UK government’s back sliding on introducing age verification (AV) for access to adult website has been given the green-light by the courts on the same day that the French government unanimously agreed to the blanket introduction of the technology for its adult sites.

Following a hearing at the High Court in London yesterday, charities and technology companies secured a significant victory in the legal battle to get the government to introduce age verification for online pornography.
The case had been publicly backed by the UK’s leading children’s charities, including the NSPCC, Barnardo’s and the Children’s Society.

John Carr OBE, Secretary of the Children’s Charities’ Coalition on Internet Safety said: “This is great news. We are another step closer to getting our children the protection they need and deserve.”
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Commenting on the move in UK to allow the legal challenge, Alastair Graham, Chief Executive of AV company AgeChecked, said:

“Last October’s announcement came totally out of the blue. Those of us who had been involved right from the drafting of this ground-breaking law, and worked closely with the DCMS and the regulator to build technology with the privacy safeguards they demanded, could not understand why the decision had been made. [...]
The judge has now ordered the government to let us know the truth behind the decision – whether it was just a misunderstanding about the technology or, perhaps, the general election they knew they would announce within days.”
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