Starting this April, the UK government are introducing a mandatory age-block across all online pornography sites following a long-running campaign to curb freely available content they deem potentially harmful to children.

Users will be automatically blocked from free sites like YouPorn and Pornhub, with both online behemoths having already introduced age verification measures before allowing access to explicit material. The move comes as a result of the Digital Economy Act 2017, which states that any commercial online pornography site which can be accessed from the UK must use an age verification system.

Until now, users have enjoyed free entry, with rudimentary age verification measures that are easily bypassed with the click of a button. From the beginning of April however, age-checks will involve a far more rigorous process, in which users will have to register with an email and password before verifying their age with either a passport, driving license or credit card. Alternatively, the process can be undertaken in the comfort of your local newsagents, where hopeful viewers can purchase a ‘porn pass’ for £4.99 with the shop owner verifying the proof of age in person. Mindgeek, the company that owns both YouPorn and Pornhub, has developed a pioneering new system called AgeID which it will roll out across its UK-access sites to an expected audience of around 25 millions Britons.

The new set of regulations throw up immediate questions regarding safe storage of data and privacy protection. Open Rights Group, UK-based organisation that advocate the preservation of digital rights, are concerned about the potential damage that could be inflicted on millions of people in the case of a data leaks. Its executive director Jim Killock said, “It might lead to people being outed. It could also be you’re a teacher with an unusual sexual preference and your pupils get to know that as a result of a leak. It won’t get you sacked for viewing something legal but it could destroy your reputation.”

Not only does the new measure pose a risk in terms of potential leaks, but in exposing your identity, watching porn will now mean providing masses of data on personal sexual preferences with no knowledge of how the information might be used or by whom. As Killock noted, “The problem is you’re giving all your data to the pornographic equivalent of Mark Zuckerberg: ‘This is what I like, this is who I am, and these are all of the sites I’ve visited’.”

Despite the legislation being passed some two years ago, it has faced repeated set-back and delays, and while it was announced the ban would be implemented on 1st April, there is considerable doubt over whether this will be the case.