[Science] UK plan to stop under-18s seeing pornography online is delayed again – AI

The UK government wants to stop anyone under 18 from accessing online pornographyDavid Lee/Alamy By Donna LuThe UK government’s plan to block underaged users from accessing online pornography has been delayed again. The law, which was passed in 2017, will require users to verify their age using a driver’s license or small refundable credit card payment. Slated to come into place in April, it was initially planned to roll out a year ago, and then pushed back to the end of 2018. After delays, MP Margot James said last November that the law would be enforced by Easter. The government is still to confirm a new launch date, amid concerns about privacy and data collection. Advertisement Read more: Your genetic data can be exploited without you ever knowing about it The regulation will apply when anyone in the UK visits a website that has the main aim of distributing of pornography. The main age verification scheme so far appears to be by AgeID, a verification company set up by MindGeek, which owns many of the pornography industry’s major sites. Critics of the legislation point out that the process will create a UK-wide database of pornography users, with the potential for targeting by hackers. There is also uncertainty as to whether restrictions will successfully be able to prevent children from accessing pornography, as social media platforms that contain pornographic content, such as Twitter, will be unaffected by the restrictions. More on these topics: technology