An update to a previous post I made not so long ago about age verification requirements as it's being reported (lazily) in the news:
All websites accessible in the UK will be required to perform a risk assessment to see if children accessing their website will see anything not "safe for kids" and if so, must implement age verification. Ofcom will require websites to implement ID verification that is live (ie. via a webcam or front facing camera), verification of Government issued or approved photo ID (as content under 18 will also be expected to require age verification), unique checks on each visit (no longer tied to an account you log in to like what happens with gambling websites now) and continuous checking of ID to ensure that a device is not passed from an adult to a child.
Something that was added that wasn't in the documents before is that all websites accessible in the UK must prevent UK residents from using a VPN, proxy or other technology to bypass age verification. They can't block VPN traffic (yet) but must prevent them from bypassing age verification. And adult websites will be forbidden from promoting such technologies. In effect, a VPN and proxy ban. Further legislation regarding VPN's is being considered by Parliament to curtail any potential workarounds. Ironically this could put an end to all the VPN sponsorships that you've been seeing on videos in recent times as this would violate the law.
Failure to do any of this results in a fine of £18 million or 10% of worldwide revenue, whichever is larger, prison sentences for website owners and blocking by all ISPs who operate in the UK.
The media as usual are focusing on adult websites but a cursory read of the documents on the Ofcom website suggest this is wide reaching and will have consequences for any website accessible in the UK. One example given in an article I read was for small blogs as well as artistic nudity and medical information. There are warnings already that websites will just close forums, comment sections and user generated content in order to protect themselves from ruin.
The receipts to verify for yourself:
And the law itself:
"Get fucked" - every website that doesn't have assets tied to the UK.
If the UK wants to block access to websites that don't meet their standards, that's on them. They can't draft foreign companies and citizens into playoing detective to see if everyone who accesses their web page is evading UK law with a VPN.
I predict that most sites will just block access from UK IP addresses and then walk away from the matter. The net result is thatt UK citizens will end up with the same internet privileges as someone in North Korea and the rest of the world will just keep on doing business as usual.
I think that's their plan. There's already been MPs who have stated that they want even more power and the BBC keeps pushing them to do it (probably because having less competition or preferably no competition would be beneficial for them). What they advocate for would be impossible unless the UK exits the Internet and goes full Intranet.
The thing is, North Korea can do this because they are a pariah state so there's no consequence from implementing an Intranet. The UK isn't (yet) and such a move would destroy their economy.