Pornhub/Instagram/PexelsThe UK’s porn ban, which was supposed to come into effect on July 15 this year, has had to be delayed because the government apparently forgot to tell the EU about it.
The ‘ban’ was set to introduce age verification steps to people wishing to view pornographic material on the internet, and would require everyone aged 18 and over to provide ID before accessing certain sites.
However, culture secretary Jeremy Wright recently admitted the process will be delayed because of an ‘administrative oversight’.
PixabayMatt Kilcoyne, head of communications at the Adam Smith Institute think tank, said, as per The Sun:
This is the third time the government has delayed the introduction of their porn laws, they should admit they got it wrong and drop them altogether.
Young people could bypass the block using a VPN, while non-tech savvy folk would be put at higher risk of credit card fraud. The next Tory leader should remind nannying bureaucrats that the government has no business in the affairs of the bedroom.
Experts and analysts said the introduction of ID checks would be a ‘privacy timebomb’ for millions of Brits.
The deal was reportedly delayed after officials from the department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) failed to tell the European commission about a number of key details of the scheme.
Universal PicturesAccording to the government, the new restrictions are being put in place to reduce the number of children being negatively influenced by pornographic content online, which it believes is too easily available.
At the time the plan was announced, Margot James, Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries, told the Independent:
Adult content is currently far too easy for children to access online.
The introduction of mandatory age-verification is a world-first, and we’ve taken the time to balance privacy concerns with the need to protect children from inappropriate content.
We want the UK to be the safest place in the world to be online, and these new laws will help us achieve this.
Relativity MediaHowever, many digital rights and privacy campaigners have strongly opposed the rule, saying it will have a vast, negative effect on the way the internet as a whole works in the UK.
Since the plans were announced, searches for VPNs reportedly tripled.
The new restrictions are set to be enforced by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) – when they eventually come into effect – the same board who give film ratings to movies shown in cinemas.
If you have a story you want to tell send it to UNILAD via [email protected]
Charlie Cocksedge is a journalist and sub-editor at UNILAD. He graduated from the University of Manchester with an MA in Creative Writing, where he learnt how to write in the third person, before getting his NCTJ. His work has also appeared in such places as The Guardian, PN Review and the bin.