Politics

Bid to scrap new ‘porn laws’ forcing all Brits to hand over credit card info before accessing adult content


CAMPAIGNERS today launched a bid to scrap tough new laws which will force Brits to hand over their personal info to access online porn.

The new rules come into effect next week and are intended to stop children stumbling across explicit pics and video.

 Brits will need to prove their age to access porn from next week

Alamy

Brits will need to prove their age to access porn from next week

But a think-tank warned that the heavy-handed law will end up destroying web users’ privacy and making them vulnerable to cyber criminals.

They added that it won’t even succeed in its main goal of blocking kids from seeing porn – because tech-savvy youngsters will just dodge it.

The law was passed in 2017 and will take effect next Monday.

Anyone trying to access online porn from the UK will have to prove they are over 18 by uploading credit card info, passport details, a driving licence or photo of themselves.

Or they can visit a corner shop and buy a “porn pass”, a digital ID available only to over-18s.

The Adam Smith Institute, a free-market think-tank, today called for the law to be abolished.

The organisation argued the rules not only infringe the liberty of Brits to access whatever they want online, but also open a serious privacy risk.

They said: “There are significant risks in creating a centralised system that is responsible for governing access to pornography sites.

“Such a system would be a honeypot for blackmailers and hostile foreign governments to exploit.”

The ASI called the law “a gift to scammers”, adding: “Requiring those who visit pornography websites to upload credit card details or identity documents in order to access explicit material will significantly increase credit card fraud and identity theft.”

And they warned that teenagers will easily be able to get round the filters by using VPNs which make it look like you’re browsing from outside the UK.

A poll last week found that three quarters of Brits have no idea the “porn laws” are about to take effect.


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