I was watching an interview on the BBC news with a man who was opposed to UK legislation that brought in greater protection for children online. His argument was that the default position for access to websites should not assume that all the users are children.
I take his point that adults should be able to access porn sites voluntarily. If the new legislation merely makes users go through some checks to verify that they are adults I don’t understand the objection.
“The main UK legislation for child protection online is the Online Safety Act 2023, which places legal duties on social media and search companies to protect children from illegal and harmful content, as well as promoting positive online experiences for children. The Act requires companies to conduct risk assessments, implement safety measures like age assurance, and act on user complaints about harmful material. Ofcom, the UK’s communications regulator, oversees the implementation of these duties through codes of practice and has the power to enforce compliance through warnings and fines.” Source Google AI.
“Since July 25th companies within the scope of the act must introduce safety measures to protect children from harmful content. This means all pornography sites must have in place rigorous age-checking procedures. Ofcom, the UK communications regulator and the act’s enforcer, found that 8% of children aged eight to 14 had visited an online pornography site or app over a month-long period.” Source Guardian online.
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