Britons say rules to keep kids off adult websites won't work

A majority of Britons do not think new measures to stop children and young people accessing pornography will prove effective. Only around one in three think new age verification requirements for adult websites will work. In contrast, 52% think the changes will not stop under-age people seeing pornography online, and 15% are unsure.

YouGov’s Dylan Difford said: “These checks might include digitally verifying a user’s age with their bank, credit card or mobile phone network provider, allowing them to submit photo ID, or using their email address or footage of their face to estimate their age. [Six] in ten Britons (61%) say they were not aware that the new rules were coming in. “Women are more likely to be unaware of the changes, with 73% saying they had not heard about them before taking the survey, compared to just under half of men (48%).”

Rebecca Hitchen of the End Violence Against Women Coalition hopes that this is just the start.

She said: “Regulation of big tech is a crucial part of preventing online harm, including children’s exposure to porn – a significant amount of which now depicts sexual violence. But the issue is not just young people’s access to porn – we need to see action taken to address the violent content itself, which so often promotes violence against women and girls.

“This is having a huge impact on behaviours and attitudes to sex, particularly among younger generations, with unsafe practices like strangulation regarded as a ‘normal’ an expected part of sex. Porn sites are profiting from this as well as from the data of their users.

“Alongside regulation, if we are to truly tackle this issue we also need to see significant Government investment in prevention, including quality relationships and sex education in every school.”

There is overwhelming support for age verification on pornography websites, with eight of 10 backing requirements and just 14% opposed.

Ellie Butt of the charity Refuge said “violent and misogynistic pornography” is “shockingly commonplace” and is “warping how young people understand sex and relationships”. She said it is helping create a culture where violence against women and girls is “normalised and even eroticised”.

She said: “All too often, the depictions of violence in online content are a disturbing reflection of the experiences of many domestic abuse survivors. Meaningful enforcement of the new measures will be instrumental in ensuring they do not fall flat.”

Andy Lulham, chief operating officer at safety technology provider Verifymy said: “It’s important to recognise how far we’ve come with these new online safety rules – and age assurance itself. From Friday, visitors to an adult site were not able to just click a box marked ‘Yes, I’m over 18’. Instead it’s likely they were given a choice of highly effective methods to demonstrate it.

“In the offline world we put adult content on the ‘top shelf’ in the newsagents and out of reach of children. The new rules will do the same thing online – making sure children are protected from inappropriate content.”

Dame Melanie Dawes, Ofcom’s chief executive said: “Prioritising clicks and engagement over children’s online safety will no longer be tolerated in the UK. Our message to tech firms is clear – comply with age-checks and other protection measures set out in our codes, or face the consequences of enforcement action from Ofcom.”