The pornography industry continues to boom, and while it's come a long way from buying magazines from the top shelf, the online porn business has never been bigger. Sites like Pornhub and OnlyFans are some of the most popular out there, but there are continued concerns about how easy they are to access.
Now, Ofcom has warned people in the United Kingdom that they will soon have to provide ID to visit these 'adult' sites.
In new guidelines published on January 16, Ofcom reiterated the enhanced version of the Online Safety Act has been given a hard deadline of July 2025.
More than just what we might consider typical 'porn' sites, the Online Safety Act has stipulated that it will also apply to social media platforms.
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These 'highly effective' verification methods include facial recognition, credit card checks, or matching someone with a photo ID.
Companies that breach these new rules could face fines of up to 10% of their turnover.
Social media and search engines have until April 16 to conduct assessments on whether children can access their services.
It comes after research from the Children's Commissioner suggested that the average age children in the UK first come across pornographic materials online is 13. One in 10 are said to be viewing them as young as nine. The Children's Commissioner says this pornography regularly depicts "degradation, sexual coercion, aggression and exploitation."
Although set to be divisive, Ofcom claims around 80% of adults are 'broadly supportive' of these measures and that UK residents are told to expect to see changes in how they access online pornography over the next few months.
Ofcom Chief Executive Melanie Dawes said: "For too long, many online services which allow porn and other harmful material have ignored the fact that children are accessing their services. Either they don’t ask or, when they do, the checks are minimal and easy to avoid."
She adds that companies have been treating all users (even if they're children) as adults. Dawes maintains this has left children 'exposed' to porn and other types of 'harmful' content.
Looking ahead, she concluded: "We’ll be monitoring the response from industry closely. Those companies that fail to meet these new requirements can expect to face enforcement action from Ofcom."
This is all part of the next steps of implementing the Online Safety Act after it was passed into law in October 2023.
The sweeping changes will affect all sites that allow pornographic material, no matter what the size. It means that it's not just the juggernauts like Pornhub and OnlyFans that will have to change how they work.
Noticeably, these age restrictions come after Florida joined the growing number of U.S. States that have banned Pornhub as it refused to comply with similar age verification rules. Florida residents have been getting around this with VPNs, but when it comes to the UK, the idea that you could be charged 10% of turnover might push things in a different direction. As for Ofcom, it sounds like a case of making a change or it could cost you dearly.