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UK plans age verification for porn websites from 2018

bbc.co.uk

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Re: UK plans age verification for porn websites from 2018

#121

Post by jonathanstrange »

pmlnr wrote: post #70
revelation wrote: post #53

Where is all this anti porn stuff coming from in the UK? I thought as a civilization as a whole we were moving away from that medieval thinking.

This is the question I've been asking as well, especially since London and the Soho exists.

This is probably the aftershock of the Jimmy Savile scandal plus various child sex scandals involving catholic priests, etc. UK politicians feel obliged to protect the children but at the same time are reluctant to address the real systemic issues - none of the many abuse scandals had anything specific to do with the Internet, of course. The real crimes are enabled by bigotry and awkward silence, not by anything on the Internet. Who knows, maybe those politicians who are suppressed perverts or pedophiles themselves cry out the loudest.

Re: UK plans age verification for porn websites from 2018

#122

Post by ksangeelee »

Grustaf wrote: post #98
mattmanser wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It will be trivial for any horny teenager to circumvent it with a proxy.

They would be much more likely to use torrents, most people don't even know what a proxy is.

Or simply install the Tor browser - additionally (and ironically) giving them access to a wide variety of extreme material.

Re: UK plans age verification for porn websites from 2018

#123

Post by kahnpro »

laumars wrote: post #10
friendly_chap wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Likely this will be implemented at the ISP level, I expect 99.99 of the sites would not care otherwise.

You still cannot effectively block every adult site even at an ISP level. There will always be smaller sites on the fringe that get missed. It's basically the same problem as preventing online piracy.

They don't need to block 100% of all sites for it to be effective. It's the same with the lock on your home, the password on your phone, the lack of a fence or wall along the length of the border. It's "good enough".

Re: UK plans age verification for porn websites from 2018

#124

Post by secfirstmd »

tici_88 wrote: post #48

This has probably very little to do with porn and is most likely the first step in the UK's government attempt to track more closely who is accessing what on the internet and even have the power to blacklist and make inaccessible areas of the internet they deem inappropriate or inconvenient. The enforceability of this is hugely questionable (they have heard of VPN right?) and the societal benefit of less porn is also…

This is primarily a kneejerk political reaction by a shambles of a Conservative party looking to be seen to be doing something on a "moral issue" by its party members.

Re: UK plans age verification for porn websites from 2018

#125

Post by eveningcoffee »

tici_88 wrote: post #48

This has probably very little to do with porn and is most likely the first step in the UK's government attempt to track more closely who is accessing what on the internet and even have the power to blacklist and make inaccessible areas of the internet they deem inappropriate or inconvenient. The enforceability of this is hugely questionable (they have heard of VPN right?) and the societal benefit of less porn is also…

I would also favour this opinion because as it seams, they really do not plan to implement an age verification but an identity detection system instead.

Re: UK plans age verification for porn websites from 2018

#126

Post by michaelt »

jonathanstrange wrote: post #111
flexie wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

These firewalls are traditionally viewed as censorship from a free speech perspective. And I don't disagree with that. But I have started to wonder whether the Great Chinese Firewall, the Turkish one, and what seriously looks like a budding British firewall shouldn't also be viewed as import regulation like any other: China wants to sell cars in the US: The US imposes import duties on the cars. The effect is that the…

It's not clear to me what you're trying to say here. The goal of this bill is certainly not a strengthening of the UK porn industry against perceived unfair foreign competition. If the bill had anything to do with import regulations, it would not concern UK porn sites. The opposite is the case.

China and Russia kicked out Google/Gmail - which was only possible thanks to a firewall - and by so doing allowed local competitors to thrive. Obviously it also gave them a bunch of political control, so we can only speculate about the relative importance of protectionism vs control when deciding to create the firewalls.

Once the UK has a firewall, they could also decide to block Google out of protectionism. Or (perhaps more likely) they could block smaller foreign companies with less political clout and more UK competition.

Of course, I hope they don't; it'd seem like a pretty bad decision to me. But the current conservative government doesn't have many tech-literate members - witness this very proposal! - so a bad decision is entirely possible.

Re: UK plans age verification for porn websites from 2018

#127

Post by jrimbault »

tici_88 wrote: post #48

This has probably very little to do with porn and is most likely the first step in the UK's government attempt to track more closely who is accessing what on the internet and even have the power to blacklist and make inaccessible areas of the internet they deem inappropriate or inconvenient. The enforceability of this is hugely questionable (they have heard of VPN right?) and the societal benefit of less porn is also…

Wasn't there a "study" that showed the more porn in a region the less sexual assault, at least some correlation ? (I don't know if it was an actual study or an opinion piece I read somewhere a few months ago?)

edit: first google result, I don't think that was it https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/all-about-sex/201601/ev...

Re: UK plans age verification for porn websites from 2018

#128

Post by TeMPOraL »

notahacker wrote: post #110
jaclaz wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, that will depend on how exactly the way the customers "will have to prove they are 18", as an example we know how no teenager under 18 would ever tick a box near "Yes, I am 18 or older". On the other hand needing to provide a photo or scanned image of your driving license or passport AND give access to the web camera to the site to verify your identity, while reasonably effective might somehow produce as a side…

> On the other hand needing to ... give access to the web camera to the site to verify your identity I can imagine some nefarious porn baron making an awful lot of money out of selling (or being paid not to sell) webcam footage of people browsing their website...

Indeed. Just show an official-looking popup saying:

"In compilance with UK [some government branch] [some law name/number], this site employs continuous age and identity verification. Your webcam will be active for the duration of your visit to ensure that only people of 18 and above are viewing the content of this website."

I'm sure there would be people who'd accept that and continue with a webcam on and recording...

Re: UK plans age verification for porn websites from 2018

#129

Post by [deleted] »

ajeet_dhaliwal wrote: post #59

I understand this is unpopular on HN and I don't think this is the right approach either but what is the solution? Or do you think there's no problem at all? I think it is a potential problem where some young people don't realize that some fairly disgusting and extreme sex acts are not the norm and start dating thinking that is what you do instead of loving someone, that would cause them serious issues in developing…

[deleted]

Re: UK plans age verification for porn websites from 2018

#130

Post by wvh »

manmal wrote: post #71
ajeet_dhaliwal wrote: post #59

I understand this is unpopular on HN and I don't think this is the right approach either but what is the solution? Or do you think there's no problem at all? I think it is a potential problem where some young people don't realize that some fairly disgusting and extreme sex acts are not the norm and start dating thinking that is what you do instead of loving someone, that would cause them serious issues in developing…

My wife studied psychology recently, and yes, it's a huge problem. There really are teenagers who think that gang bangs are the norm, and that they have to participate. I thought she was joking when my wife told me some of the stories (case studies actually), but these things really happen if you get exposed to this when really young, and nobody bothers to correct your views.

But this is not pornography-specific. This applies just as well to views about healthy relationships, self respect, food consumption, alcohol and drug use, financial discipline, world views and whatnot. Teens need to be educated so they can form an informed and nuanced view of the world. Not sure you should ban all teens from McDonalds because some parents can't get the message across that fast-food is unhealthy.

In other words, is the main problem here that gangbang videos exist or that some kids get a really shitty upbringing that leaves them full of gaping holes, incapable of handling life or making wise decisions?

The point I'm trying to make is that people are shifting the responsibility and consequently limiting freedom and varied views for all, like the ban on "gay propaganda" in Russia or "facesitting" pornography in the UK. It's the wrong solution to a (I assume for some) real problem.

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