Queen Announces Age Verification For Porn Sites

All websites containing pornographic material will be forced to verify that their users are over 18 the government has confirmed in the Queen’s speech. The measure is to reduce the chances of children accessing disturbing pornographic images. But critics say that the proposal sets a “dangerous precedent” for internet access, and that porn will be the first casualty along a more widespread curb on privacy and freedom. Wired reports: The forthcoming Digital Economy Bill will argue that all sites containing any pornographic material must be hidden unless a user can prove they are over 18. No further details of how the blocks will be implemented or enforced have been announced. The announcement follows a Conservative Party manifesto pledge to improve protection for children online. A survey commissioned by the government in February 2015 found that one in five children aged 11 to 17 had seen pornographic images “that had shocked or upset them”. In response to the news, children’s charity NSPCC said the “the proliferation of online pornography” was giving some children a “warped view of sexual relationships”. “Industry must do much more to ensure they cannot access this material by enforcing strict age verification rules,” the charity wrote on Twitter. [...]