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[Gowans]

People in the UK will have to prove they are 18 before being allowed to access pornography websites from next year, the government is to announce.

Websites will be legally required to install age verification controls by April 2018 as part of a move to make the internet safer for children.

Users may be asked to provide credit card details, as gambling websites do.
Companies breaking the rules set out in the Digital Economy Act face being blocked by their internet provider.

Under the plans, firms supplying payment and other services to the pornography websites could be notified about any breach.

A regulatory body will be asked to oversee and enforce the new rules.

It is thought this could be the British Board of Film Classification which already sets age limits for films and computer games.

'Most robust protection'

Digital minister Matt Hancock will formally begin the process, which was the subject of a 2016 consultation during David Cameron's government, in a written statement to the Commons later.

Mr Hancock said: "All this means that while we can enjoy the freedom of the web, the UK will have the most robust internet child protection measures of any country in the world."

Will Gardner from internet safety charity Childnet said: "Steps like this to help restrict access, alongside the provision of free parental controls and education, are key."

An NSPCC report in 2016 said online pornography could damage a child's development and decision-making and had been seen by 65% of 15-16 year olds and 48% of 11-16 year olds.

The study found 28% of children may have stumbled across pornography while browsing, while 19% had searched for it deliberately.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-40628909

 

[strafer]

And his last name has cock in it....

 

[danowat]

First step on the road to a controlled internet for the UK

 

[Doctor_Thomas]

Why not have the same restrictions on other potentially harmful material like the Daily Mail's website?

 

[UnemployedVillain]

Asking for CC info for porn sites?

 

[BocoDragon]

An NSPCC report in 2016 said online pornography could damage a child's development and decision-making and had been seen by 65% of 15-16 year olds and 48% of 11-16 year olds.

I'm guessing it's actually 100%.

 

[Jezbollah]

...aaaaand suddenly VPN usage by UKers goes up..

 

[daviyoung]

Just make HTML illegal. Problem solved.

 

[Mivey]

What about those younger porn sites? Do they have to wait 18 years until they can operate in the UK? Seems unfair.

 

[Bleepey]

Fuck of May. What are the Tories trying to distract us from now.

 

[Wiseblade]

You have to really have no idea how the internet works if you think people won't lie about their age to access porn.

"I'm only 17, I shouldn't be looking at this." - Nobody Ever

EDIT: Credit Card info? HELLLL NOOO

 

[AuthenticM]

Why not have the same restrictions on other potentially harmful material like the Daily Mail's website?

Indeed. But since the conservatives are the ones who want to pass this bill, they wouldn't want to limit access to propaganda that is in their favour.

 

[Plum]

You have to really have no idea how the internet works if you think people won't lie about their age to access porn.

"I'm only 17, I shouldn't be looking at this." - Nobody Ever

Or if they think people will see "Please enter your card details to access britishslagtube" and respond with "Fine by me."

 

[Alienous]

"And in recent news there has been a sudden spike in credit card theft related crimes"

 

[AllGamer]

They will just use a free VPN service instead.

 

[D4Danger]

"Hey people running websites not based in the UK do what we say"

"No"

and scene

 

[empyrean]

really hate this governments obsession with spying and trying to curb people's freedoms.

 

[Spaced Harrier]

Oh get the fuck out of the EU as soon as possible please.

 

[Sakura]

I imagine most kids get their porn pirated or whatever any way.

 

[M3d10n]

It will be interesting to watch the statistics for credit card fraud in the UK after this goes live. Typing your CC info into random porn websites isn't exactly a smart thing to do.

 

[tomtom94]

Here's a hint: the solution to kids getting poor sex education and relying on porn isn't to take away porn. It's to improve sex education.

 

[Real Hero]

really hate this governments obsession with spying and trying to curb people's freedoms.

it;s what the (people over 50) want

 

[Verelios]

Hahaha, gl with that guys.

(Never going to happen)

 

[Shredderi]

Credit card info? Everything about that sounds horrible and they know that. Propably hoping that it would just deterr anyone from going to porn sites.

 

[Linkstrikesback]

Can't wait until they sneak an exemption for MPs in for this.

 

[His Majesty]

I bet the guy has never used a porn site before if he thinks entering credit card details is a good idea.

 

[Previous]

Well that blows

 

[FortuneFaded]

An NSPCC report in 2016 said online pornography could damage a child's development and decision-making and had been seen by 65% of 15-16 year olds and 48% of 11-16 year olds.

Theresa May must have watched a lot of porn.

 

[Kthulhu]

It will be interesting to watch the statistics for credit card fraud in the UK after this goes live. Typing your CC info into random porn websites isn't exactly a smart thing to do.

Ding ding ding. Unless they're some reputable site then there are few dumber things you can do.

 

[Little Old Man]

Credit card applications to soar in the UK.

 

[Wiseblade]

The rate of credit card fraud is going to skyrocket, quickly followed by a rise in virtual prepaid card usage.

 

[grumpy]

Doesn't the uk government have more pressing issues to deal with at the moment?

 

[Kinsei]

Credit card info? Fucking seriously?

 

[Wiseblade]

Doesn't the uk government have more pressing issues to deal with at the moment?

YES

YES IT DOES

 

[Kthulhu]

This just in: viewership of Highschool DxD to skyrocket.

The rate of credit card fraud is going to skyrocket, quickly followed by a rise in virtual prepaid card usage.

Lol, I didn't even think about that. They really didn't plan this out, did they?

 

[danm999]

Doesn't the uk government have more pressing issues to deal with at the moment?

Nothing springs to mind.

 

[Theonik]

Doesn't the uk government have more pressing issues to deal with at the moment?

May wants to pretend the election didn't happen and try to pass as much of her shitty legislative agenda as possible before she gets booted.

 

[shira]

What about all that porn on Youtube?

 

[Vert boil]

 

[AusRoachman]

Can't wait for the first credit card info dump / hack. No doubt a number of high ranking officials will be on that list

 

[danowat]

Doesn't the uk government have more pressing issues to deal with at the moment?

May has got, always has had, and always will have, a massive hate boner for the internet.

I'm still amazed the IPA got through last year without any news coverage.

 

[liquidtmd]

This can just be solved by googling a proxy in 5 seconds akin to the ridiculously ineffective pirate bay blocks, right?

 

[Linkstrikesback]

Doesn't the uk government have more pressing issues to deal with at the moment?

This is Theresa May trying to push her agenda which she wanted to do after gaining a massive majority in the early election, despite her falling face first in to her own mess. She and her cronies don't care about brexit because they'll all have jobs for the foreseeable future either way.

 

[Izuna]

Bing will require age verification?

 

[Kthulhu]

All the smaller sites will just set up multiple domains like anime piracy sites.

 

[FSLink]

There will be plenty of stolen CC details from shady ass websites. Great idea if you want credit card fraud to go up.

 

[bosseye]

Shut it all down. Make kids find their porn in local woods like I had to. Who left it there! Mystery.

 

[Kthulhu]

What are they gonna do about the thousands of Twitter and Tumblr accounts dedicated to porn?

 

[danowat]

Shut it all down. Make kids find their porn in local woods like I had to. Who left it there! Mystery.

Ha, that made me chuckle, an 80's child I see

What are they gonna do about the thousands of Twitter and Tumblr accounts dedicated to porn?

You don't honestly think they've actually put any thought into it do you?

 

[Royal_Phalanx]

So how is this going to work with foreign sites like Reddit, Pornhub and Tumblr? This is badly thought out and a really stupid idea.