In light of the discovery that one in five children who use the Internet has seen porn online, the UK government intends to exercise some stringent measures to curb such trend.
The UK government is proposing the implementation of age verification technology on all porn websites. If the porn providers do not comply, they will stand to face civil sanctions.
Nearly 1.4 million British kids who are under 18 have visited porn sites in a month as divulged by the government. The alarming figure is reflective of the fears that impressionable kids are increasingly developing a "warped view of sexual relationships".
Therefore, in a bid to curb this problem, the UK government is proposing the introduction of the age verification system, which will be mandatory for all adult websites.
Sites that don't follow the rules will be facing sanctions. A regulator will be monitoring this and the rules will be applicable to "all sites containing pornographic material."
The ministers have plans of fining the porn sites up to £250,000 in the event they do not transition to the age-verification software, which will ensure that kids do not view adult videos online accidentally.
If the porn providers do not comply with the legislations, then the sites could see their payments getting affected. The commercial providers flouting the government mandates will have sanctions imposed on them.
A public consultation for the intended law has been opened and will run till April 12 this year. This will take place post meetings with several Internet companies, telcos, charities and academics.
According to the terms of the proposal a new legal requirement needs to be implanted, whereby all adult content providers in the country are required to enforce age verification controls.
"We are delivering on our manifesto promise by launching this consultation today, which proposes we require companies providing this pornographic content to ensure they have safeguards in place to ensure those accessing their websites are over 18," said baroness Shields, Internet and security minister.
The consultation document put forwards the proposal that checks need to be applicable to content that receive an R18 or 18 rating from the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC).
"We are keen to hear from parents, schools, child protection experts, the pornography industry, internet service providers and online platforms that provide access to pornographic content," explains the consultation document.
The DCMS is keen on implementing the new mandate in the coming months.
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