Age Restrictions On Porn Websites Delayed By Government Again (The Telegraph UK)

Read the full article by Mike Wright at Telegraph.co.uk 

Age restrictions on porn websites have been delayed by government again, the digital minister has told MPs.

Margot James said checks, which had been due to come into force by the end of December, are now being pushed back until Easter.

The minister said the system was still yet to be agreed by parliament and once that happened there would need to be a three month period to allow the industry to implement the checks.

The verification system had initially be slated to start in April this year but has been pushed back a number of times as the government and adult industry have grappled with how it will work in practice.

Under the current scheme adult websites will have to provide their own verification software, which will then have to meet standards and checks carried out by the British Board of Film Classification.

Adult sites that fail to comply with the age verification checks face a number of sanctions including having their addresses blocked in the UK.

Ms James was also asked about why social media companies were not subject to age verification when it was known that pornography was circulating on their networks.

Ms James admitted their exemption was “a weakness in the legislative solution” and said the government would be monitoring the amount of adult material available on social media.

“But we will keep a watching brief on how effective those age verification techniques turn out to be with the commercial providers. We will also keep a close eye on how social media platforms develop in terms of the extent of pornographic material on those platforms, particularly if they are platforms that appeal to children.”