A United Kingdom data regulator pledged to crack down on pornographic content online by mandating that providers confirm users’ ages.
The U.K.’s Information Commissioner’s Office announced on Thursday that it was reversing its position on the regulation of adults-only websites in relation to the Children’s Code and Age Appropriate Design Code, two pieces of legislation the U.K. implemented to protect children online. The codes recently inspired legislation in California that will significantly affect social media platforms in the United States.
CALIFORNIA CHILD INTERNET PRIVACY LEGISLATION HEADS TO GOV. NEWSOM’S DESK
“We have revised our position,” said Information Commissioner John Edwards, according to Bloomberg. “We now accept that if there are a significant number of children accessing the sites, they are in the aegis of the code.”
The change in position comes after 11 civil society watchdogs filed a legal challenge against ICO in December 2021, arguing that the code covers all websites or services “likely to be accessed by children” and not just services or websites directly targeted at children.
Companies that provide adult content, such as Pornhub, will now be required to make it clear they are taking actions to ensure that a significant number of children are not accessing their services, according to Edwards. The commissioner did not elaborate on what a “significant” number would be.
Proposals to require pornography websites to verify visitors’ ages were introduced through the U.K.’s Digital Economy Act of 2017 but were dropped in 2019 after privacy advocacy organizations attacked the proposal over the notion of creating a database of pornography users.
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The Children’s Code and Design Code were a significant inspiration for a new piece of child internet privacy legislation that California’s Senate and Assembly passed on Monday. The legislation requires companies to prioritize the safety of children in their product design. It will also restrict apps’ ability to collect data on anyone 18 or younger and require apps to turn on their highest privacy settings by default for children.
