Tougher age checks for porn are welcome step

The UK government recently announced that clauses in the Online Safety Bill requiring websites to verify the age of users accessing pornography will be strengthened. We are very grateful to ministers for taking this important step, which will be welcome news to parents across the four nations of the UK.

New amendments to the legislation will see services that publish or allow pornography on their sites held to a new “higher standard” on the age verification or age estimation tools they use. Sites will have to ensure that these are "highly effective” in establishing whether people attempting to access their site are over 18. New measures will also hold tech executives personally responsible for keeping children safe – significantly raising the stakes when it comes to platforms upholding a duty of care.

The move follows a long-running campaign by CARE, which drafted amendments and worked with other charities including Barnardo’s and CEASE to have them accepted by the government. For many years now, CARE has been calling for much tougher online safeguards, based on very well-evidenced concerns about the devastating impact of pornography on our children and young people. Now that ministers have ordered a higher standard in age checks, we are within touching distance of the legislative safeguards Britain’s children need.

Ofcom will bring forward guidance spelling out how sites can meet new standards in age verification and avoid falling foul of the law. The regulator will also be required to issue periodic reports on the effectiveness of age verification, and annual reports on the compliance of porn sites. It is not clear how long exactly it will take for the Online Safety Bill to be agreed, and for all these regulatory mechanisms in place but we are hopeful that ministers will act as soon as practicably possible. Children cannot afford to wait for protections.

Most younger children encounter pornography online by accident. Robust age verification measures will help prevent the youngest and most vulnerable kids being exposed to content that is disturbing and damaging to them. For older children, the impact of pornography is evident in the alarming rise of sexual harassment in schools. Our societal response to this issue must involve curbing young people’s access to porn. Pornographic sites glorify sexual violence and amplify toxic attitudes towards women and girls.

It is possible that social media sites will try to circumvent new measures, given a ‘proportionality’ clause in the Online Safety Bill. Given that the Children’s Commissioner for England found most children access pornography for the first time on social media platforms, it is crucial companies are not allowed to evade responsibility. The Government must close any potential loophole without delay. At CARE, we want the government to succeed in its task of delivering world-leading internet safety with a legislative framework that is broad in scope.

It is regrettable that some groups have stood in the way of age checks on pornographic content. Their protestations are based on a supposed right of access to sexually explicit material, without restraint. Such a position lacks empathy for the vulnerable and is logically inconsistent. We require online age checks for access to alcohol, tobacco, gambling products, knives, and a host of other age-inappropriate materials. It is obvious that a child should not be able to access these things. So why would society turn a blind eye to children watching porn?

We comment the government for staying the course with its age verification measures. Those who have opposed change should be ashamed. They have stood in the way of sensible and compassionate changes that will make a real difference to children’s lives.

Ross Hendry is CEO of Christian Action Research and Education (CARE)