Ofcom, the British communications regulator, recently published its industry guidelines for effective age verification on pornographic websites. The aim is to protect minors from pornography and other harmful content. The new guidelines stipulate that online pornography providers must implement age verification on their websites by July 2025 at the latest.
According to Ofcom, this decision is another important step in enforcing the Online Safety Act and ensuring a safe online experience for children and young people in the United Kingdom.
Pornography – harmful content?
Robust verification of age is, according to Ofcom, a key component of the Online Safety Act and long overdue. All services that offer potentially harmful content, such as pornography, must ensure by summer that their services cannot be accessed by minors. Naturally, the adult industry is already protesting, as opinions are divided on whether pornography is truly harmful content and should be classified as such. While there may be general agreement on the issue of violence, the topic of sex is evidently far more controversial.
Although no specific details are known yet about what a reliable age verification system should look like, it has been clearly defined that it must be highly effective and accurately determine whether a user is an adult or a child.
In addition to protecting minors, it must also be ensured that all data protection laws are upheld and that adults can continue to legally access pornography on the internet without facing any consequences.
According to surveys in the United Kingdom, around 80% of all adults support age verification systems in the adult industry to protect children from pornography. Companies now have exactly six months to adjust their online offerings accordingly and implement an age-check system.
What are the exact rules that online services must comply with?
- Child access check: All platforms with user-generated content and search functions (“Part-3 services”) must now take a close look: Is their offering accessible to children? If so, it’s time for a risk analysis! This assessment must be completed by April 16. Any service without a highly effective age verification system should prepare for the reality that children might access their content. And then? Action is required!
- Child protection in social media & co.: In April 2025, the “Protection of Children Code” will go live! Any platform that is likely to be accessed by children must conduct a risk assessment by July 2025. After that, they must implement protective measures, such as age verification and other safeguards to keep harmful content away from minors.
- Age verification for porn sites – No access for kids! By July 2025, ALL pornography providers must implement strict age verification measures. Those who publish their own erotic content (“Part-5 services”) or use generative AI must take action NOW! And platforms that host user-generated pornography (“Part-3 services”) have until July to fully implement these measures. No loopholes, no exceptions—only clear protective regulations!
But what exactly is considered “highly effective age verification”?
Ofcom has defined four fundamental principles:
- Verification methods must be technically precise, reliable, and fair.
- The following methods are considered highly effective: Open banking, photo ID matching, facial age estimation, age verification through mobile network operators, credit card verification, digital identity services, and email-based age estimation.
- Self-declaration of age or simple online payments are not considered valid verification methods.
- No pornographic content must be visible to the user before completing the age verification process.
For a long time, Ofcom had hoped that the adult industry would voluntarily implement age verification measures. However, as minors continue to have easy access to pornography online, the UK government is now enforcing legal regulations to address the issue.
This move undoubtedly presents significant challenges for the UK’s adult industry, and it remains to be seen whether a single country taking action will have a real impact in the age of VPNs.
