The UK government has decided that since July 15 the porn sites will be required to ban access for British citizens under the age of 18. From now on, this kind of websites will need to check the age of visitors, and if the breaches of this requirement are detected, resources may be blocked.
The introduction of restriction has already been postponed several times. It provides different options for checking users, so when visiting the site, the user will have to confirm the age with the passport, driver's license or credit card. And, also there will be a special pass - it can be purchased in common stores for 5 pounds when presenting the ID.
The intention to introduce such a ban by the British authorities was previously criticized by representatives of the industry and advocates of users' rights. Speaking in favour of easy possibility to find adult content not only on sites but also in social networks. In addition, VPN services can help users, as they will be able to hide their location and avoid the ban stated for UK visitors. Finally, the introduction of the ban means that the government can create a list of Britons who visit the sites. Subsequently, such a list will be the desired tidbit hackers would like to hunt. This risk is increased by the fact that the largest sites (Pornhub, YouPorn, RedTube, etc.) are owned by MindGeek, which will compile such a list.
However, the British authorities did not heed the objections of opponents of the idea of the ban. "We want the UK to be the safest place in the world to be online, and these new laws will help us achieve this," said the UK Minister of State for Digital and the Creative Industries Margot James.
The poll which was held earlier by YouGov showed that 76% of Britons are unaware of plans to impose the porn sites' access restrictions, and 67% of respondents supported the idea, while the remaining respondents doubted its effectiveness.
