U.K. Government Scraps Age Verification Scheme (XBIZ)

Read the full article by Gustavo Turner at XBIZ.com

LONDON — In a surprising move, the U.K. government has backtracked on its efforts to implement the controversial Age Verification scheme that would have compelled anyone who accessed adult websites in the realm to officially verify they were not minors.

Nicky Morgan, Secretary of State for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, released a statement today concerning "Online Harms," in which it is informed that the government "has concluded that this objective of coherence will be best achieved through our wider online harms proposals and, as a consequence, will not be commencing Part 3 of the Digital Economy Act 2017 concerning age verification for online pornography."

"After several delays and controversies, plans for a UK ‘porn block’ have been scrapped," BBC Senior Journalist Thomas Fabbri, who covers the adult industry and sex workers' issues, told XBIZ. "However, the government remains committed to ‘protecting children online’ and adopting ‘innovative solutions’ in the future – perhaps some that cover social media platforms too. Today’s news is a victory for those who have opposed these plans for years, in hope that a post-Brexit future won’t bring any bad surprise."

Last month, at XBIZ Berlin, British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) Policy Director Murray Perkins gave an update on the rollout of mandatory age verification in the U.K.

Today's news shows a 180-degree change in position regarding Age Verification by the embattlenned Boris Johnson government.