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UK government plans to block porn sites without age verification

It's election season in the UK, so get ready for a near-endless stream of new policies, proposals and promises from the major political parties. The latest from the Conservatives is actually an old idea that's been kicking around since last autumn: to force sites containing adult material to introduce proper age checks. It goes beyond the UK government's rather unpopular porn filters, which ISPs are now forced to offer customers as an "unavoidable choice." Simply highlighting the feature was supposed to encourage adoption, particularly from parents, but the latest figures from Ofcom suggest its impact has been limited. Now, the Conservatives want "effective age verification controls" for all online pornography, and plan to block sites which refuse to implement proper checks.

But it's not clear exactly how this would work. When reports of a similar measure surfaced last year, there were suggestions it would use software akin to those used by banks and gambling sites. Restricting viewers at the point of payment could be ineffectual though, given the amount of content that's available online for free. Age verification forms are easily duped and site filters are already in place, leaving the government with few alternatives. So it should come as no surprise that the party has given few details about the policy. In a Facebook post, however, it did specify that such controls would be managed by an independent regulator: "It will determine, in conjunction with websites, how age verification controls will work and how websites that do not put them in place will be blocked."

[Image Credit: AP Photo/Francoise Mori]