Internet Porn Site Regulation

^ Thank you for that. This is exactly the sort of detail that has been lacking in the media's discourse on this topic and that I hoped would elucidate from posting with someone who has heard direct from the horse's mouth. (Early press indications on this aspect were obviously either misleading or the subject has undergone revision.)

Of course it has become clear in recent news that the current government feel the need to target social media in a different manner going forward. They seem to have concluded that doing so via the current legislation would have been an overreach that could have threatened the success of both prongs of attack. So we now see that they are leveraging other threats to (once again largely) children (self-harm, eating disorders, etc.) as well as, more generally and troublingly, anything they deem to be "disinformation" as the way to curtail the social media's growing pervasiveness in communication. A white paper due next month with proffer more detail of course but is thought to include the option of a new Ofcom-like online regulator "with teeth". AV for Facebook, Twitter, et al is thought to be a shoe in. The government push on even when one the usual cheerleading charities concerned is warning of the "unexpected consequences" of knee-jerk legislation.

Anyone like to bet these politicians will stop their interventions against the net at that point? If so I will take that bet. These people see themselves as crusaders on a roll at this point. One successful act of censorship seems utterly precipitous to the next. The Culture Secretary is already bragging the new regulation with be flexible (read vague) enough to allow for it to deal with any future 'harms' the government deems worthy of the name.

[Apologies for taking this somewhat OT. I just thought the contrast/similiarities between the two pieces of legislation interesting and the approach becoming ever more clear that porn is being used as the proverbial canary in the coal mine.]

UK porn BLOCK comes into force next month - but a £5 ID card will buy you access

https://www.mirror.co.uk/tech/uk-porn-bl...e-14091429

Brits who watch porn online will be forced to prove their age before accessing sites like PornHub and tubestation from next month.

The new measures are a result of the Digital Economy Act 2017, and are designed to prevent children from seeing content that isn't appropriate for them.

Under the terms of the Act, all online commercial pornography services accessible from the UK are required to carry age-verification controls.

Mindgeek - the company that owns Pornhub, tubestation, realmadrid and Brazzers - has developed a system called AgeID, for this purpose.

From April, anyone attempting to access any of these sites from a UK device will be redirected to a non-pornographic "landing page".

^^ From that article :

Quote:The new AgeID system is expected to go live on April 1, though an exact date has not yet been set.

^ Yes this date has snuck into the recent news articles quite surreptitiously. How appropriate that date is. Loads of wankers are going to think it's a prank when they hit their first landing page - a joke! And of course it is, just a multi million pound state sponsored ongoing one. It is the Chris Grayling of laws.

(14-05-2018 09:38 )Bandwagon Wrote:  So how long will this pass be valid for? Will it have an expiry date?

Does anyone know the answer to this?

The cards are being advertised as a one-time verification, i.e. once you've verified your age you've verified your age. In other words the card work the same way as any other method of age verification and they can't expire.

From a quick scan of the article, it says the cards work in conjunction with an app, and come in two versions, a single device version and a more expensive multi-device version. No mention of whether there is a PC version of this app.

It also negates the whole point of the verification as well, since these cards will be available at the likes of corner shops, which lets face it, are not the greatest and most trustworthy at age verification when selling products!

Looks like someone in the press jumped the gun with assumptions on the April 1st date: https://news.sky.com/story/new-uk-porn-v...n-11656801
Melon Farmers also confirm I was wrong in an earlier post - as an official date is yet to be set the 3 month readying period has not yet started. The earliest launch date is apparently June therefore.

This article goes into a little more detail on the user's process for AgeID sites.

Verification looks like it will need to be redone on their system if the user changes UK IP address, device and/or browser. Although it's not made entirely clear how the multi device code will work in operation. In fact it seems odd the implication is there's no multi device option when applying online?

Other AV suppliers functionality may be a little different of course.

I love that the AgeID spokesperson has to say they look forward to working with the BBFC's accreditation system on privacy standards. That would be the system that doesn't exist yet! This is obviously part of the problem with the launch - there's not even the final voluntary code of practice in place for AV.

Meanwhile the next step beyond social media sites is being planned: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article...-code.html

What a surprise, av has been delayed again.....not

Nice summary of the matters here for dummies like me:

https://order-order.com/2019/03/15/there...qus_thread

Always liked Guido's libertarian outlook but on many matters he has sold out somewhat in the last 18 months.