A por.nography ban on under 18s will launch in April with users having to provide ID to see adult content. Anyone who visits a por.n site in the new year will be asked for proof of age in the form of a driving licence or age verification cards.
The ban was approved in the House of Commons on Monday as part of the Digital Economy Act.
It was actually discussed last year but the plans kicked up confusion on how the age verification would work.
Anyone looking to watch por.n from a British IP address will be quizzed – including those using free sites.
Stuart Lawley, CEO of AVSecure, says several companies will offer age verifications, with a “kitemark” style system to ensure the verification complies with the new law.
He said that 60,000 shops in the country will offer Age Verification cards should be on offer before the launch on April 15.
Lawley said: “The BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) will look at the methods age verification systems use to verify people are 18, so for instance, a name and address wouldn’t be enough – but a scan of a driving licence or a credit card and CVV number would be OK.”
Those looking to view por.n will be directed to a page which will ask them to fill in their details.
Once users have proved their age once they will be given “tokens” that will be stored in internet browsers, allowing users to log in to sites.
Sites which refuse to comply with the new restrictions will be blocked by internet service providers.
Lawley explains that there will be seven or eight systems which will be certified by the BBFC but he expects that most users will opt for either AVSecure’s blockchain-based AgePass system or MindGeek’s system.
MindGeek owns por.nhub, Youpor.n and pay por.n sites such as Brazzers and will use a separate system