It's election season in the UK, so get ready for a near-endless stream of new policies, proposals and promises from the major political parties. The latest from the Conservatives is actually an old idea that's been kicking around since last autumn: to force sites containing adult material to introduce compulsory age checks. It goes beyond the UK government's rather unpopular porn filters, which ISPs are now forced to offer customers as an "unavoidable choice." Simply highlighting the feature was supposed to encourage adoption, particularly from parents, but the latest figures from Ofcom suggest its impact has been limited. Now, the Conservatives want to put all online pornography behind "effective age verification controls," and block sites which refuse to enforce proper checks.
But it's not clear exactly how this would work. When reports of a similar measure surfaced last year, there were suggestions it would use software akin to those adopted by banks and gambling sites. Restricting viewers at the point of payment could be ineffectual though, given the amount of content that's available online for free. Age verification forms are easily duped and site filters are already in place, leaving the government with few alternatives. So it should come as no surprise that the party has given few details about the policy. In a Facebook post, however, it did specify that such controls would be managed by an independent regulator: "It will determine, in conjunction with websites, how age verification controls will work and how websites that do not put them in place will be blocked."
In short, the party has an idea that could attract public support during the General Election. It doesn't appear to have the final solution though (rather like David Cameron's remarks on encryption) so instead, it's going to let someone else work out the specifics.
[Image Credit: AP Photo/Francoise Mori]
Filed under: Internet
Via: The Verge
Source: Conservatives (Facebook)
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