UK porn industry proposes alternative ID checks

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."