New law: Age verification for porn in Great Britain from July!

New law: Age verification for porn in Great Britain from July!

Great Britain plans a groundbreaking measure for age verification for porn providers and social media with explicit content. From July 25th, a robust age check will be introduced to protect minors more effective from pornographic content, matching the online safety act that aims to protect this protection. This period falls shortly before the summer vacation in England, which underlines the urgency of this regulation. According to Exxpress.at, OFCOM, the British media supervision, will play a central role in this and emphasize that the new measures must be "highly effective".

The prescribed age tests must not be done by simple confirmations such as clicking on a button. Instead, there are several possible methods of age verification. This includes checking credit card data, online banking and age determination through facial recognition via camera. If these regulations are not complied with, the providers threaten or even block the providers. It was pointed out that, according to an OFCOM study, about 8% of children between the ages of 8 and 14 in Great Britain are exposed to pornography in Great Britain, which reinforces the need for these measures.

EU initiatives for age verification

For the transitional period to the finished EuID pocket, which is expected at the end of 2026, an age review solution will be provided at short notice. Companies such as T-Scy (Scytales and T-Systems) are commissioned to design and develop this temporary solution. In the summer of 2025, an adaptable White label app is to be available, which also enables translations in national languages. The development process for this solution has already started with technical specifications, source code and a beta version that is tested in cooperation with Member States and industrial representatives.

These measures could be pioneering in combating the secret consumption of pornographic content, both in Great Britain and in the entire European Union. The legal framework will respectfully take into account the protection of the privacy of the users and still effectively limit access to harmful content for minors.