Story 2015-05-27 9V9D UK porn industry proposes alternative ID checks

UK porn industry proposes alternative ID checks

by
Anonymous Coward
in internet on (#9V9D)
Britons may soon face identity checks to access adult material on the internet, according to discussions between Whitehall and the private sector. "Nobody in the UK wants a centralised identity database," so a new scheme proposed by the pornography industry would see adult sites verifying visitors' identity through banks, credit reference agencies or even the NHS. It comes ahead of an expected new law demanding age checks for online pornography and threatening a block on any sites which don't comply. It is a key Conservative pledge and has widespread support. But critics say the plans are a privacy nightmare, and warn they will require Chinese-style "draconian" levels of internet censorship.

Britain's pornography industry has a lot to gain from the government's plans, critics point out. Tough regulation and stiff competition from abroad have taken their toll on the industry. If overseas sites were blocked it would be boom time for homegrown pornographers. But foreign web companies are beginning to pay attention, too. "Quite how these foreign websites are going to be brought to task, and how quickly they are going to bring it in, I don't know."
Reply 3 comments

Internet licence (Score: 0)

by Anonymous Coward on 2015-05-27 09:04 (#9VAB)

Can anyone else feel the idea of a licence to use the internet coming through? On the positive side, what scheme can't be bypassed or hacked given the incentive to do so. Some humans find that it is easier to do the impossible than the shameful.

Re: Internet licence (Score: 1)

by fishybell@pipedot.org on 2015-05-29 04:03 (#9ZKQ)

I can see it now: rows of pimply-faced teenagers sitting through vintage videos of not car wrecks, but identity theft cases and pedobears, all while the teacher sat in the back thumbing through playboy (yes, still the print edition: driver's ed teachers/internet ed teachers are all the same).

Obvious fallout (Score: 2, Interesting)

by ancientt@pipedot.org on 2015-06-03 20:23 (#AC9E)

Three things will happen:

1) Most people will attempt to access sites outside the UK, thus putting heavy financial pressure on those businesses affected inside the UK to fight it
2) The average consumer will click, pause then click somewhere else and for those who haven't already, they'll learn that bypassing the censors is actually easy (the tighter you squeeze slip fingers, dark side, cookies something)
3) The angry Internet trolls will abuse and hack the new system to expose or frame people in charge