Porn sites to introduce 'robust' age verification under new Ofcom guidance

Ofcom has published new industry guidance on age checks to prevent children from accessing pornographic content.

The “robust” age checks form part of the regulator’s implementation plan for the Online Safety Act (OSA).

All services offering pornographic content, including social media and online gaming platforms, will have to introduce “highly effective” age assurance techniques for users in line with the OSA by July.

The guidance confirmed that self-declaration of age, used by some social media platforms, and online payments which don’t require a person to be, is not an appropriate method and will need to be replaced.

In 2022, research commissioned by Ofcom, revealed a third of children aged between eight and 17 with a social media profile had an adult user age after signing up with a false date of birth.

The guidance also states that users should not be allowed to access pornographic content before they have completed an age check.

Melanie Dawes, Ofcom’s chief executive, said: “For too long, many online services which allow porn and other harmful material have ignored the fact that children are accessing their services. Either they don’t ask or, when they do, the checks are minimal and easy to avoid. That means companies have effectively been treating all users as if they’re adults, leaving children potentially exposed to porn and other types of harmful content. Today, this starts to change.”

A report by the Children’s Commissioner showed that the average age children first encounter porn is at 13-years-old, with one in 10 accessing it at age nine.

Ofcom has outlined a list of methods it considers “capable” of being highly effective, including open banking, photo ID matching, facial age estimation, mobile network operator age checks, credit card checks, digital identity services and email-based age estimation.

The new guidance comes as First Minister John Swinney is considering implementing an Australia-like ban on social media north of the border.

In November, the Australian Parliament approved the world's strictest laws on children’s use of social media, banning those under the age of 16 from holding accounts.

Dawes added: “As age checks start to roll out in the coming months, adults will start to notice a difference in how they access certain online services. Services which host their own pornography must start to introduce age checks immediately, while other user-to-user services – including social media - which allow pornography and certain other types of content harmful to children will have to follow suit by July at the latest.

“We’ll be monitoring the response from industry closely. Those companies that fail to meet these new requirements can expect to face enforcement action from Ofcom.”