UK Digital Economy bill

You might be interested in the Digital Economy bill which will be debated in the House of Commons again on Tuesday 13 September 2016.

http://services.parliament.uk/bills/...aleconomy.html

If eventually passed in this form (see page 17) there will be a fine of up to £250,000 ($385,000) or 5% of annual turnover for anyone who makes "pornographic material" accessible to under 18s in the UK whether commercially or free. So age verification will be mandatory on everything. Affiliates and advertisers will be classed as an “ancillary service provider” if they link to or advertise on any non-compliant site.

It seems to included video, still images and bizarrely even audio. It all hinges on whether the material would qualify for an R18 certificate if released as part of a DVD and whether it was produced "solely or principally for the purposes of sexual arousal."

Do they seriously think they could enforce this?

I wonder what will happen with Google? Currently it serves up porn results to under 18s.

The gov would be able to apply pressure to any company which physically operates in the UK. Otherwise not a hope. Maybe they'll start on ISPs? As you suggest Bec these are people who don't have much of a clue about how it all works. You may remember previously there was that stupid ATVOD quango attempting to regulate all online video.

Anyway it isn't law yet. It'll be interesting to hear what is said on Tuesday.

So any follow up on this?

It's ongoing:

https://services.parliament.uk/bills...aleconomy.html

It's at the "report" stage in the House of Commons then it goes to the House of Lords.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-38062660

"The government has announced new powers that could force internet service providers to block pornographic websites that do not ask for age verification.

"It is part of a wider crackdown on the content that children can view online. The plan will be included as an amendment to the Digital Economy Bill, the government said."