UK introduced fresh guidelines
On Tuesday, the UK introduced fresh guidelines for age verification to safeguard children from accessing online pornography. Among the proposed measures is the use of AI-based technology to assess whether a viewer appears to be of legal age.
This initiative stems from the recently enacted Online Safety Act, which mandates that websites and applications featuring or disseminating explicit content implement measures to prevent children from accessing such material. The legal age for viewing pornography in Britain is set at 18 or older. The government’s proposal reflects a commitment to leveraging technology, particularly AI, to bolster online safety measures and ensure compliance with age restrictions for explicit content.
A study conducted by the Office of the Children’s Commissioner for England in 2021-2022 revealed that, on average, children first encounter online pornography at the age of 13. Alarmingly, nearly a quarter of children come across such content by the age of 11, with one in 10 exposed as early as 9 years old.
CEO of media regulator Ofcom
In response to these findings, Melanie Dawes, the CEO of media regulator Ofcom, emphasized the importance of robust protective measures across online services. Regardless of the specific approach taken by these services, Dawes stressed the expectation that all platforms provide effective safeguards to prevent children from accidentally accessing explicit content. Additionally, she underscored the need to balance these protective measures with the preservation of privacy rights and freedoms for adults seeking access to legal content.
The regulator outlined its proposal for facial age estimation, suggesting the use of AI to analyze a viewer’s facial features. This method would likely involve users taking a selfie on their device and uploading it for verification purposes.
In addition to facial age estimation, the suggested guidance by the watchdog encompasses alternative measures, such as photo identification matching. This would entail users uploading a photo ID, such as a passport or driver’s license, to validate their age. Credit card checks were also put forth as another avenue for age verification.
Novel Suggestion
A novel suggestion involved open banking, where users could willingly authorize their banks to share information with online adult content sites, confirming that they are of legal age, specifically over 18. These multifaceted proposals aim to provide diverse options for age verification while considering user privacy and compliance with legal age requirements.
The Institute of Economic Affairs, a free-market think tank, expressed concerns that mandatory age verification poses a threat to user privacy and could potentially expose individuals to breaches and abuse by increasing the volume of sensitive data held by third parties.
In response, the regulator, Ofcom, argued that less stringent methods such as self-declaration of age, online payment methods not requiring individuals to be 18, and disclaimers or warnings would no longer meet the standards outlined in its new guidance.
Ofcom anticipates publishing its final guidance early in 2025, reflecting its commitment to establishing effective and privacy-conscious measures for age verification in the context of online content, especially explicit material subject to age restrictions.
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