Ofcom orders websites with pornographic material to introduce ‘robust’ age checking in UK

All websites hosting pornographic material have been ordered to introduce “robust” age-checking techniques by the summer.

All websites hosting pornographic material have been ordered to introduce “robust” age-checking techniques by the summer.

Regulator Ofcom has issued new guidance under the Online Safety Act (OSA) with the aim of preventing children from being able to easily access explicit material online.

Melanie Dawes, Ofcom’s Chief Executive, said in a statement: “For too long, many online services which allow porn and other harmful material have ignored the fact that children are accessing their services.

“Either they don’t ask or, when they do, the checks are minimal and easy to avoid.

“That means companies have effectively been treating all users as if they’re adults, leaving children potentially exposed to porn and other types of harmful content. Today, this starts to change.”

Social media platforms where such material can be found have been told to introduce age checks for UK users by July, while services hosting their own material have an “immediate” deadline to start introducing the checks.

Ofcom has revealed a “non-exhaustive” list of technology that can be used as age verification.

These include the likes of photo ID matching, credit card checks, email-based age estimation, facial age estimation and open banking.

The watchdog confirmed that “methods including self-declaration of age and online payments which don’t require a person to be 18 are not highly effective” and thus aren’t allowed.

Dawes added: “As age checks start to roll out in the coming months, adults will start to notice a difference in how they access certain online services.

“Services which host their own pornography must start to introduce age checks immediately, while other user-to-user services – including social media – which allow pornography and certain other types of content harmful to children will have to follow suit by July at the latest.”