All websites on which pornographic material can be found, including social media platforms, must introduce “robust” age-checking techniques such as demanding photo ID or running credit card checks for UK users by July.
The long-awaited guidance, issued by regulator Ofcom, has been made under the Online Safety Act (OSA), and is intended to prevent children from easily accessing pornography online.
Ofcom has published what it calls a “non-exhaustive” list of technologies that may be used to verify ages, which includes:
- Open banking
- Photo ID matching
- Facial age estimation
- Mobile network operator age checks
- Credit card checks
- Digital identity services
- Email-based age estimation
The rules specifically state that self-declaration of age is no longer considered a highly effective method of checking ages – and therefore is not acceptable.
It also states that pornographic content should not be accessible to users before they have completed an age check.
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