Porn watchers may have their faces scanned to prove their age with more checks for young-looking adults, Ofcom’s draft guidance suggests.
The regulator is looking at a variety of methods to prevent children from accessing adult material online. According to a recent survey the average age children first see pornography is just 13.
Pornhub has warned that methods involving the collection of “highly sensitive personal information” could threaten user safety, meanwhile a privacy campaign group has warned of the “catastrophic” consequences of leaked data.
According to Ofcom around 14 million UK citizens consume pornography on the internet. But it’s the ease with which children can access online sexual content that is concerning regulators.
According to a survey by the Children’s Commissioner, one in ten children have seen online porn by the age of nine. The Online Safety Act, which recently became law, requires search engines and social media platforms to protect young people from harmful content.
Ofcom has revealed the measures it expects companies to utilise to ensure they are “highly effective” at adhering to the new regulations, which come into force in 2025.
Acceptable methods used by companies may include:
– Requiring government photographic ID such as a passport
– Checking if the user has previously had age restrictions removed from a mobile phone
– Credit card checks
– Digital ID wallets that store a user’s proof of age which can be shared with the site.
Jack Liepa, director of the charity Sexpression, which sends university students into schools to run workshops about sex and relationships, told the BBC that the Online Safety Act was a good thing but not a total fix to the problem.
He told the national broadcaster: “Young people probably still will find ways to access this content: older siblings might provide access, and they’re still going to turn 18 and suddenly have access, at still quite a young impressionable age”.
