UK government adds in age checks for porn

[grimreeper132]

The UK Government has recently passed an idiotic law which means that porn sites need to do background checks on their users or face fines. The current plan to do this through using peoples credit card details. 

Quote

The age-check requirement applies to any website or other online platform that provides pornography "on a commercial basis" to people in the UK.

It allows a regulator to fine any business that refuses to comply and to ask third-party payment services to withdraw support.

The watchdog will also be able to force internet providers to block access to non-compliant services.

Ministers have suggested one of several ways this might work would be for pornographic sites to demand credit card details before providing any access, since in the UK consumers typically have to be over 18 to have a card of their own.

This is a horrible idea, as the online porn industry is notorious for fraud and scams this could be disastrous. They also plan to do this by April 2018, but as one of the cyber-security experts on the advisory panel put it 

Quote

"The timeline is unrealistic - but beyond that, this is one of the worst proposals I have seen on digital strategy," said Dr Joss Wright from the Oxford Internet Institute.

 

"There are hundreds of thousands of websites where this material can be accessed and you are not going to catch all of those.

 

"There's privacy issues - you're requiring people to effectively announce the fact they are looking at this material to the credit card authorities.

 

"And there's serious security issues from requiring people to enter their credit card details into untrusted sites.

 

"They may well say there will be other magical ways to do the age check, but I very much doubt they will be non-discriminatory [against adults without credit cards], transparent, privacy-preserving and secure for end-users."

But on the other side of the story it is possibly true that this will help stop some children being exposed too early to porn, but as Dr Nash put it 

Quote

"It may make it harder for children to stumble across pornography, especially in the younger age range, but it will do nothing to stop determined teenagers," Dr Nash concluded.

 

this is in my opinion a stupid idea, half the companies will steal your credit card details and steal money from you that way, while the other half will force you to pay "to prove" your old enough,  what makes this even worse is the fact the UK government has an agenda against encryption meaning that you could be sending these details to these companies in an insecure way, which is easily hackable, this could go horrible wrong. Luckily there will be many many easy work arounds, first one popping into my head is a simple VPN to any country that doesn't have these laws, either that or use one of the countless sites that won't give a shit about these laws or don't know about them which won't implement it. Which according to another article by the BBC will be blocked by your ISPs (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-38062660), which is not a good thing, as if they start blocking some websites they can start blocking others, and sooner or later it becomes censorship is possible. And that is obvious of why that is not a good thing. 

 

Source- http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-40630582

[grimreeper132]

Just now, CUDA_Cores said:

Who the hell pays for porn?

no one but this way you will need to supply your credit card details to be even allowed to see it

[RadiatingLight]

I'm sure that sites will just, not implement it, and try to fight to make the fine as small as possible.

people NEVER put in their credit card details into sites that aren't very trusted, and the only one most people trust is probably pornhub, which will probably not implement this anyway, and just take the fine anyway. (would also be probably hard to do, since they're not UK based.)

[RadiatingLight]

1 minute ago, grimreeper132 said:

no one

Well it's either brazzers or floatplane, and I'm not a floatplane pilot... so....
_{^{T'is a joke}}

[grimreeper132]

Just now, RadiatingLight said:

I'm sure that sites will just, not implement it, and try to fight to make the fine as small as possible.

people NEVER put in their credit card details into sites that aren't very trusted, and the only one most people trust is probably pornhub, which will probably not implement this anyway, and just take the fine anyway. (would also be probably hard to do, since they're not UK based.)

aye that is probably true, same time as I said at the end the government is also try and get our ISPs to block the websites of those companies that don't comply

[grimreeper132]

Just now, CUDA_Cores said:

Any person with half a brain cell would use tor or failing that, use a VPN to the US. Europe has bigger problems to worry about than porn. 

I addressed that later on, and yea it won't be hard to do at all

 

[HunterSkater429]

Are they doing it like online vaping retailers have to? Where you just take a picture of your government issued id and submit it.

 

(I didn't read the post I can't see the black)

[Denis Rakhmanov]

3 minutes ago, CUDA_Cores said:

use a VPN

Later this year: a new law, banning all personal VPNs(just like china).

[crosstiger]

But what if I don't have a credit card? 

[Fonzie92]

Just now, crosstiger said:

But what if I don't have a credit card? 

youtube is going to be your greatest friend

[Teddy07]

It is really about time to leave Europe. This is a total shit show recently

 

For example, Germany has introduced an anti free speech law to combat hate speech in social media. Even the UN doesn't like it demanded an answer from Germany.

I don't use social media so whatever. It is just another attempt to silence government critics. The mainstream media is completely uncritical similar to the US

[Syntaxvgm]

If I were a bit more cynical than I am, it would seem to me like this is entirely to be able to blackmail people.

In reality I think this is yet another case of stupid morality laws. 

[Syntaxvgm]

Just now, Teddy07 said:

It is really about time to leave Europe. This is a total shit show recently

and go where? the US? We're not buried in shit yet, but we'll catch up in a few years. I've always noticed our tenancy to follow our friends across the pond when it comes to government overstepping its bounds. Soon well be arresting people for 'hate speech' and making you put in your credit card in for porn sites here as well. 

[Teddy07]

Just now, Syntaxvgm said:

and go where? the US? We're not buried in shit yet, but we'll catch up in a few years. I've always noticed our tenancy to follow our friends across the pond when it comes to government overstepping its bounds. Soon well be arresting people for 'hate speech' and making you put in your credit card in for porn sites here as well. 

Maybe Canada, Australia, New Zealand. I can only imagine living in Switzerland and Norway here in Europe.  

[LAwLz]

Well, the UK sure is on a slippery slope.

It started with an optional porn filter. Then it became the default option to have it enabled. Now you need to submit your credit card to every single porn website you visit.

 

I honestly would not be surprised if they will "fix" the massive issues with submitting your credit card to unsafe sites by creating a new government issued "Internet ID card" which you can use to visit porn websites. Then that ID will be extended to "other extreme websites" like maybe drug related websites. Then it will be extended to less extreme websites as time goes on until you need an ID to visit any website whatsoever.

[mr moose]

The problem is young kids being subject to content before they are developmentally ready right?  Then why not simply hold the parents/caregivers responsible rather than punishing everyone else?

 

What's next, making car manufacturers put license scanners on all cars?  breweries making beer cans you can't open without proving your age every time?

[Syntaxvgm]

8 minutes ago, Teddy07 said:

Maybe Canada, Australia, New Zealand. I can only imagine living in Switzerland and Norway here in Europe.  

I couldnt' imagine Canada or Australia would be much better, maybe for now. I would avoid Switzerland. Seriously. Don't know much about Norway or NZ tbh

[Syntaxvgm]

2 minutes ago, mr moose said:

What's next, making car manufacturers put license scanners on all cars?  breweries making beer cans you can't open without proving your age every time?

Yes, both. At least the first one for certain, I'm like 90% certain that will happen in the future. The second one maybe for smokes. 

[Denis Rakhmanov]

14 minutes ago, Teddy07 said:

Australia,

I believe, that australia is already in deep **** when it comes to the internet.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_censorship_in_Australia

Am i mistaken? 

[Teddy07]

12 minutes ago, Syntaxvgm said:

I would avoid Switzerland. Seriously.

 

Why?

I only heard good things about Switzerland. They also have a very beautiful landscape.

[TrigrH]

13 minutes ago, Denis Rakhmanov said:

I believe, that australia is already in deep **** when it comes to the internet.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_censorship_in_Australia

Am i mistaken? 

5 websites which are only blocked at the DNS level....

[tom_w141]

Well my VPN subscription becomes more valuable by the day...

[EPENEX]

18+ to watch porn? I was watching porn when I was 8.

[grimreeper132]

1 hour ago, HunterSkater429 said:

Are they doing it like online vaping retailers have to? Where you just take a picture of your government issued id and submit it.

 

(I didn't read the post I can't see the black)

you need to supply your credit card details to the website (cause you need to be 18 for most credit cards in the UK)

[grimreeper132]

59 minutes ago, Denis Rakhmanov said:

Later this year: a new law, banning all personal VPNs(just like china).

you are trying to be funny, but no they are probably also trying to do that, cause they class it as encryption, and that shouldn't be allowed