As per the Digital Economy Act 2017 which goes live in Britain this year, new rules are being applied to regulate porn consumption. All British users will be required to acquire a 'porn pass' from local newsstands as a mean of age verification to get access to pornographic content.
The Digital Economy Act 2017 was formed last year to restrict access to porn in Britain. The Act is set to fully go into effect later this year with the help of British ISPs and local newsstands offering 'porn passes' to any citizen who has access to age verification documents. Not complying with the new regulations can lead to fines of up to £250,000. Implementing the changes to websites is up to the porn industry. Porn websites are expected to handle the responsibility of creating the age verification software that allows access only to users who have access to a porn pass with a unique 16-digit number.
The implementation of the rules has been delayed to allow the British Board of Film Classification more time to draft all of the guidelines for the new rules. Once the Parliament approves the guidelines, the entirety of the Digital Economy Act 2017 will go into effect across Britain. As The Verge reports, a porn pass will cost around £10 and will include a 16-digit code to unlock access to pornographic websites. Newsstand operators are expected to perform age checks before selling a porn pass to any user. Users who wish to acquire the pass need to carry a driver’s license or passport at the time of purchase.
The Department of Culture, Media and Sport is responsible for implementing the new legislation. A spokesperson for the department claimed that the government is set to implement the strictest data privacy protection laws in the world once the porn regulations are in place.