Another delay by six months, about age verification on sites with pornographic content, was announced by the Government, which apologizes
At the beginning, it was decided that the legislation would come into effect in April 2018 and then in April 2019. After many delays, the UK Government and the Culture Secretary Jeremy Wright admitted that the date of 15 July, no longer exists and added that we should wait for another six months. Jeremy Wright apologized and mentioned that it was a mistake as part of the plan never presented and communicated to the European Union.
The minister Cat Smith described that mistake as an “utter shambles” and underlined in House of Commons: “It’s not good enough, it’s not acceptable and it’s letting children down”. She also wanted to assure that user data will be safe and minors will not be exposed to risks on the Internet, until the final date of application of the relevant law.
Therefore, despite the delay, porn websites will be forced to find accurate ways to verify that users are over 18 years old. On the other hand, users will also be forced to submit ID details online like driver’s license or passport. However, there many concerns about the privacy and apart from that, the industry chiefs communicated with the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) and told them that “time is very tight” and there is a need for more time. What they said is based on the fact that a rushed plan would mean less protection for public data.
As it seems, the legislation will come into force after 15 July, but what is important is the fact that websites owners are already making preparations and operating systems about age verification. Chief executive Alastair Graham supplemented: “Websites that aren’t making preparations need to do so quickly, irrespective of whether the law is officially in place.”
