Porn viewers have been put on alert and warned that in a few months time they may have to show their passports or driving licences to watch adult videos online.
Last year the controversial Digital Economy Act received royal assent, which means it has now been ratified and will be enforced in the UK.
One of the headline features of the act is the obligation for websites that host pornographic or adult content to check the age of online visitors.
And the Digital Economy Act could come into force as early as April this year, which would bring with it a huge shake-up for the porn industry.
A number of age verification methods have been touted, including porn users having to make the embarrassing trip to their Post Office to show their ID.
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And as the enforcement of the act fast approaches, porn sites will be looking at ways they can ensure they’re compliant with the controversial legislation.
One way the Government could verify porn viewers are over 18 is by asking to see their passports or driving licences.
AgeChecked is a legally compliant system that uses passports, credit card details, driving licences and other information to verify a person’s age.
To gain access to a restricted website, users just need to sign in with their AgeChecked account – which they get once their age is verified.
Data on the passport or driving licence used to verify a person’s age is not stored once the account is set up.
Alastair Graham, CEO of AgeChecked, said: “With the Digital Economy Act coming into force as early as April 2018, online businesses need to give serious consideration as to how they are age checking their customers.
“A simply tick box stating that they are over 18 is just not going to cut it.
“This is why we have developed AgeChecked to give site owners a genuine, legally-compliant method of guaranteeing that those trying to access age restricted content are the correct age.
“The Government is cracking down on age verification – there have been changes to how knives can be bought online, and now adult content will be subject to stringent age checks – so businesses really can’t afford to ignore the law, otherwise they could be facing huge fines and other punitive measures.”
The age checks are coming into force to protect children from accessing pornographic or adult content online.
The Open Rights Group has previously warned the Digital Economy Act could lead to porn companies being required to create a database of what everyone has watched.
And experts fear such a database could be targeted by cyber criminals looking to blackmail those on it.
Open Rights Group Executive Director Jim Killock said: “Age verification could lead to porn companies building databases of the UK’s porn habits, which could be vulnerable to Ashley Madison style hacks.
“The Government has repeatedly refused to ensure that there is a legal duty for age verification providers to protect the privacy of web users.”
Once the act is enforced in the UK, porn viewers in Britain will face a similar fate to their Russian counterparts.
Last year Express.co.uk revealed how PornHub users in Russia will need to show their passports to access the site’s huge online library of videos.
Millions of PornHub users in Russia now have to login via VKontakte, Europe’s largest online social networking service.
To open a VKontakte account, users have to enter their mobile phone numbers.
And in order to legally purchase a SIM card in Russia customers have to present passport information.
PornHub VP Corey Price said: “While this exact method is not a condition [from the Russian government], we found this is the best solution for our users to comply with Russian access laws.”
He added: “Also to be clear, PornHub does not log or store any of your personal information, this is just a check to see if users are over 18…. On [VKontakte’s] end, all they will see is see the request from that user, they will not know what that user browsed on PornHub.”