UK’s farcical porn block plan delayed yet again
The UK government’s push to create a national database of people that access pornographic content under the guise of protecting children from accessing explicit material online has hit yet another delay.
The new regulations were due to come into effect on July 15, but according to Sky News, this could now be delayed indefinitely, due to the UK government failing to inform the European Commission about details of the scheme, which it is legally obliged to do.
The scheme, a misguided plan set out by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) in 2015, is due to be enforced by the BBFC – the same body that certifies other media in the UK. SEXTECHGUIDE contacted the BBFC but had not received a response at the time of publication.
This is the third major delay – at least – to the plan to require UK users to prove their age before accessing adult content online, and little has been done to allay fears that the law could lead to the leaking of sensitive personal information. Indeed, it remains to be seen how the BBFC could even hope to enforce its rules on non-UK based businesses.
While there’s nothing wrong with the aim of protecting children from accidentally – or easily – accessing adult material, there’s little reason to think that a crudely implemented age verification system will make much difference. Users with a VPN active will simply need to select a non-UK IP address to bypass the blocks.
Hell, even browsers are considering implementing DNS encryption, which a government official has already admitted would make the rules unenforceable.
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Whether or not the law will actually come into effect remains to be seen, but its negative effects are already being felt around the world, as at least six other countries look to follow the UK’s privacy-impinging example.
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