Internet porn to require ID check in UK under new laws

UK residents will have to provide age ID to access porn websites from July 15, the Britiswh government has announced. Photo / 123RF

UK residents will have to provide age ID to access porn websites from July 15, the British government has announced.

Described as a "porn ban", the new law means anyone wanting to access any 18+ websites will have to hand over their ID when logging on.

The move is part of the country's Digital Economy Act 2017 aimed at preventing children from accidentally coming across extreme porn online.

A spokesperson for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport, told The Sun: "This is a world-leading step forward to protect our children from adult content which is currently far too easy to access online."

The porn block was expected to come into force last April, but was pushed back to December, then again to July this year.

It is expected adult websites will be given three months to implement and enforce the new rules.

HOW WILL IT WORK?

The porn block will restrict access to many adult sites, including free porn sites such as PornHub, YouPorn and RedTube - which attract close to two billion visits a month worldwide.

Users will need to use an official form of ID such as a driver's licence or passport to access such websites.

Users will initially be shown a non-pornographic landing page, according to AgeID spokesman James Clark.

"When a user first visits a site protected by AgeID, a landing page will appear with a prompt for the user to verify their age before they can access the site," he told The Sun.

"Each website will create their own non-pornographic landing page for this purpose."

After clicking on the site they'll be asked to register with AgeID before being asked to verify their ID through a mobile SMS, credit card, passport or driver's licence.

Once verified, the user will be able to access all porn websites.

If sites fail to implement the new law, they can face fines of up to £250,000 (about NZD$484,000).