Campaigners welcome age verification on UK porn sites

From today, Friday 25 July 2025, robust and effective age verification measures must be in place on all pornographic websites across the UK.

Social policy charity CARE, who have campaigned for this measure for more than a decade, welcomed the landmark moment in the campaign to protect children online.

The group also called on Ofcom—the communications regulator responsible for enforcing age verification—to take swift action against sites that fail to comply.

CARE’s Online Safety Policy Lead, Tim Cairns, said:

“Today is a huge moment in the campaign to protect our young people from the harms caused by online pornography.

“Porn use is linked to violent sexual crimes and sexual harassment in schools. Studies show it also has a harmful impact on relationships and mental health.

“This is a change that will give parents more confidence that their children will not stumble across porn accidently online, or be able to access it if they are under age.

“Whilst age checks are not a silver bullet, we believe that with proper enforcement, they will be a vital and effective means of protecting children—especially from stumbling across porn accidentally online.”

Communications regulator Ofcom is responsible for enforcing age verification. Mr Cairns went on to say they must show they ‘mean business’:

“Ofcom must show it means business and take swift action against commercial porn sites that fail to require age verification.

“Early enforcement action will build confidence that Ofcom is willing to make tough decisions against big porn sites and will deter other sites from abusing the system.”

ENDS

Notes to editors:

For interview requests, further reaction, or background: james.mildred@care.org.uk / 07717516814

For more information on CARE’s campaign for age verification: https://care.org.uk/cause/online-safety/the-story-behind-age-verification

Ofcom has a range of tools to ensure compliance, including fines and court orders banning non-compliant sites from the UK.

Age checks could include facial age estimation technology, requests for photo ID, or credit card verification.