The ease with which pornographic sites can be accessed is of concern to regulatory authorities around the world. For this reason, the British Government announced on Tuesday a legislative proposal to force providers of pornographic content on the Internet to verify the age of users, in order to prevent access by minors. And the initiative could be extended to all of Europe.
On International Safe Internet Day, the Secretary of State for Digital, Chris Philp, explained that the draft Online Security Law, currently being prepared, will be strengthened with an additional provision that will require websites and other platforms to distribution introduce “robust controls” to ensure that those who use them are at least 18 years old.
The Ministry of Culture, Digital, Sports and Media specifies in a statement that companies will be free to choose the type of control they apply, which could be “secure age verification technology”, to verify that they have a credit card. and are over 18 years of age, or that an external service confirms the applicant’s age using information that the government already has as a reference, always with respect to data protection regulations.
If the sites do not take action, the regulator Ofcom “may fine them up to 10% of their annual worldwide turnover or block them from being accessible in the United Kingdom,” says the note, which warns that those responsible for these websites could face criminal charges if they do not cooperate.
Pornhub, the most popular free porn site. Photo Pornhub
The draft Online Security Law, which will be processed in the coming months, adds to the existing Digital Economy Law of 2017, but will expand its scope by extending “both commercial suppliers of pornography and sites that host content generated by users”.
Philp says in the statement that currently “it is too easy for children to access pornography online.”
“Parents deserve the peace of mind that their children are protected online,” he adds.
The ministry notes that there is concern among parents and educators that this access to porn “affects how young people understand relationships, sex and consent,” as well as the view of women.
According to a 2020 study by the British Film Classification Board, cited in this release, at least 51% of 11-13 year olds have viewed pornography in this country, and many of them, some as young as 7 years old, they accidentally run into her on the internet.
Also: campaigns against cyberbullying and grooming
The TikTok social network and the Chicos.net Association today launched the #ChooseYourForma campaign with the aim of raising awareness among adolescents, families and teachers about grooming, cyberbullying and hate speech.
#ChooseYourForma aims to prevent risks and provide “tools to talk with the family and achieve a safe and enjoyable experience in digital environments” to find “moments for dialogue” and generate “a space of trust, so that children and adolescents they can feel that their families accompany them in their digital life, without putting obstacles in their way”, they indicated.
It is made up of a series of 10 videos for teenagers that can be seen at www.eligetuforma.org where it will also have materials for adults, triggers to start conversations with young people on different topics related to the use of the Internet and a didactic guide for teachers with activities to do in educational spaces.
Grooming, dangerous challenges, cyberbullying, hate speech, time spent on screens, misinformation, the importance of consent, personal image and self-esteem or digital footprints are some of the topics to address as a family. and at school and encourage a healthy and safe online experience.
The director of Chicos.net, Andrea Urbas, asserted that “it is normal for families to be in permanent tension when it comes to understanding what children and adolescents do on screens.”
And she added that “it is understandable that we want to know how they take advantage of that time, what they play, who they contact, what they expose on their networks, how they manage their privacy or what situations can affect both their self-esteem and their integrity.”
“Hand in hand with the #ChooseYourForma campaign, we want to be close so that families, and also schools, face the challenge of accompanying digital life in childhood and adolescence,” she added.
As part of the project, the webinar “The most challenging challenge: talking to adolescents about what they do on the networks” will be held on the 23rd, where specialists will talk about the repercussions of social networks on the lives of children and adolescents.
Participating in the meeting will be the director of Chicos.net, the psychologist Silvina Ferreira Dos Santos, and the researcher Ximena Díaz Alarcón, who will present the results of the study “Analysis of effective preventive educational responses to dangerous online challenges.”
The investigation was carried out by Praesidio Safeguarding with the support of TikTok, and Chicos.net as advisor, along with other experts from different countries around the world.