This afternoon the government announced the official launch date for its age-verification scheme for online pornography. As of 15th July, X-rated websites (or at least some of them) will have a three-month grace period to ensure that all UK visitors are over 18. If they fail to do so, the government will block them from UK servers entirely.
This so called ‘porn block’ has been in the works for some time. It’s been dogged by criticism, with everyone from online privacy campaigners (who fear the potential repercussions of creating a giant database of porn-viewers) to LGBT campaigners (who say it disproportionately affects minority groups) calling for it to be scrapped.
Realistically, though, that was never going to happen: right now the Conservatives need all the political wins they can get. Not only is the ‘porn block’ expected to be popular with Middle England (a recent YouGov poll showed that nearly 90 percent of parents backed ‘stricter regulation’), it’s also part of something bigger: the government‘s ‘internet safety strategy’, a rather ambitious (and worrying) plan to make the UK a world leader in preventing online ‘harm’.
Britain’s best politics newsletters
You get two free articles each week when you sign up to The Spectator’s emails.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in