Experts have raised concerns about ‘catastrophic’ privacy risks as the UK watchdog Ofcom pushes for strict enforcement of the Online Safety Act
The UK government has been trying to introduce age verification tools into online porn for some time, first as part of its Digital Economy Act, and more recently as part of its controversial Online Safety Bill (which recently became law as the Online Safety Act). If you’ve been on any NSFW sites lately, of course, then you’ll know that all attempts have been unsuccessful... so far. Now, porn watchers are facing age-gating once again.
Now that the Online Safety Act is officially in place, the regulatory authority Ofcom has laid out a number of ways that viewers over the age of 18 could be forced to verify their age on porn sites, with many raising concerns about privacy and user safety.
In Ofcom’s December 5 report on “protecting children from online pornography”, the organisation places the responsibility for meeting the UK’s legal guidelines on porn sites themselves, explaining that its job is to “provide guidance” and “hold them to account” if they fail to comply (presumably in the form of large fines). How can they avoid these consequences? Essentially, by spying on their users.
Methods suggested by Ofcom for verifying the age of porn watchers include the provision of photo IDs, like passports and driving licences, or credit cards (how could that possibly go wrong?). Alternatively, they could get their bank or mobile company to confirm they’re over 18, but this would essentially mean sharing viewing habits with the companies involved. Most concerning of all is the prospect of facial scanning, another proposed solution to age verification, which would involve estimating the age of a porn site user based on their facial features.
As reported by the BBC (although it’s basically common sense), privacy experts have warned of “catastrophic” consequences if data from age checks on porn sites is leaked, including the possibility of blackmail. In direct response to the Ofcom proposals, Pornhub has also suggested that collecting “highly sensitive personal information” puts user safety in “jeopardy”.
Of course, Pornhub might not be the most reliable source when it comes to the introduction of age restrictions. Parent company Aylo says it generally supports the concept, but its traffic reportedly dropped by 80 per cent in Louisiana after the US state introduced age verification earlier this year. That said, it adds that most of the traffic didn’t disappear altogether, but shifted to sketchier porn sites with less rules and content moderations. Other viewers used VPNs to bypass restrictions.
According to recent research by Ofcom, just under a third of online UK adults (13.8 million) accessed pornography in a single month of 2023. In the December 5 report, the watchdog says that the average age that children first watch porn is now 13, with 27 per cent encountering it by the age of 11. Nearly eight in 10 “youngsters” have encountered violent pornography depicting coercive, degrading or pain-inducing sex acts, it adds, though the definition of these terms is notoriously loose.
“Pornography is too readily accessible to children online, and the new online safety laws are clear that must change,” says Ofcom’s chief executive Melanie Dawes. “Our practical guidance sets out a range of methods for highly effective age checks. We’re clear that weaker methods – such as allowing users to self-declare their age – won’t meet this standard.”
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