UK Starts Enforcing Online Age Verification Rules

A new law in the U.K. requiring pornography websites to verify the age of their users took effect on Friday.

As reported by the BBC, around 6,000 adult websites have announced their plans to implement age verification measures in compliance with the Online Safety Act; however, at least one major site had not begun age checks by Friday morning.

Moreover, the law compels online platforms to protect children from harmful content, leading sites like Reddit, Bluesky, X, and Grindr to request age verification from users in the U.K. using methods like selfies or government-issued ID.

This legislation is part of a larger initiative aimed at child protection, which could pave the way for the widespread adoption of online age verification, as observed by Wired. Nevertheless, it has drawn criticism from groups such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which argue that it endangers online privacy and anonymity. They pointed to a recent data breach involving the dating safety app Tea, where many selfies and digital IDs uploaded for verification were exposed.

Some users may try to circumvent age verification by using fake IDs, selfies of gaming characters, or VPN services.