Age verification for porn consumers is not new. Prior to the digital era, customers had to show proof of age to purchase pornographic magazines and video tapes. But on the internet, it’s hard to prevent unsupervised minors from searching for and viewing porn.
To combat this, the United Kingdom (UK) recently passed a law requiring age verification (AV) for access to commercial adult websites. Here is the full press release from the UK government on the age verification law, popularly referred to as the UK’s “porn ban,” slated to be rolled out on July 15, 2019. They seem proud to be the first country to introduce mandatory AV technology for online porn. The legislation is vague enough to set a dangerous precedent that may have negative social, commercial and political consequences — perhaps even something we might see introduced in other countries.
What is the UK Porn Ban?
The UK government points to online “commercial providers” of porn — websites that distribute porn with the intention of making a profit — as the main targets of the AV law. This obviously includes tube sites like Pornhub and xHamster, as well as sale sites like Brazzers, ManyVids and Clips4Sale.
The law explicitly targets websites on which porn comprises more than a third, or 33.33 percent, of all content on the site. When a user with a UK IP address visits one of these sites, they will be redirected to a non-explicit, safe web page and asked to verify their age. There are several types of AV technology that will likely be introduced when the law goes into effect this summer: AgeID, PortesCard, AgeChecked and AgePass.
For more on the history and cybersecurity implications of the porn ban (and the AV solutions), see Tom Bradbury’s article, “The Definitive Guide to the Digital Economy Act and the UK Porn Ban.” We reached out to Bradbury for more details on how the porn ban will affect the cammunity and our customer bases.
Bradbury says the porn ban will likely apply to cam sites like Streamate, Chaturbate and MyFreeCams as well. He explained, “These sites will count as commercial providers since they operate in a way where users pay to tip performers, and the companies that own the sites take a percentage cut of the performers’ earnings.”
? The #ukpornban is coming on 15 July 2019. ?
Here's all you need to know in 3:30 ⏰
Hats off to @qiuChuck for the amazing animations. ?https://t.co/jtFgy53OUb
— Tom Bradbury (@thisghosteque) May 8, 2019
Do cam sites meet the Porn Ban ‘requirements’?
Cam sites will also typically surpass the 33.33 percent threshold, as they are established purveyors of adult-only content. It is unclear, however, what the government counts as pornographic content under the new law. Are non-nude fetish clips still considered porn? Further, how will this 33.33 percent be calculated?
Social media and sharing sites like Twitter, Imgur and Reddit are not going to be affected by the porn block. They aren’t “commercial providers” of porn because, although you can certainly find porn on these sites, they weren’t built for selling or distributing porn and they don’t market themselves as adult sites.
In order to make purchases through commercial adult sites, members usually pay with a credit or debit card. This weeds out much of the underage population because cardholders must be adults. Plus, it’s far more risky as well as illegal for a minor to use someone else’s card to make such a purchase. But minors can still stream free previews on those sites or flock to tube sites, where all they have to do to watch free porn is click a box that says “I am an adult.” They can also access parts of cam sites that allow free Guest or Basic members to view potentially x-rated streams.
All commercial porn websites, everywhere, are expected to implement AV tech for UK visitors, regardless of where the companies themselves are headquartered. For example, MindGeek, the owner and operator of many popular porn companies, is headquartered in Canada. They will be required to utilize AV technology for UK visitors across all of their sites. Downloadable video site Clips4Sale is based in the United States, and they will be required to utilize AV technology for UK visitors, too.
What impact will the porn ban have on the #cammunity and its bottom line?
The biggest concern for the cammunity is the threat of losing a significant portion of our customer base. For instance, if many UK consumers decline to pass the AV requirements to enter our cam and video hosting sites and choose to get their porn from non-affected sites like Reddit instead or if relevant sites become blocked in the UK for noncompliance, this will impact models.
Many models still conduct business via Twitter and Reddit, accepting only direct payment through Cash App, Venmo, gift cards, etc. This method, however, is less secure because of the ease with which customers can dispute transactions, the lack of chargeback protections offered by commercial adult sites, lack of visibility, dishonesty of sellers and buyers (eg “catfish” and other scammers) and the risk of having your accounts and funds removed for sex work-related transactions.
Additionally, let’s say a porn or cam site does not invest in AV technology and the UK government elects to block it for the whole region — performers everywhere might lose their UK customer base, and UK models might lose access to income from that site.
The age verification technology will only need to be set up to affect visitors from a UK IP address. They will not affect visitors with IP addresses in countries where porn sites are still easily/legally accessible. Using a virtual private network (VPN) to mask your location is an easy way to circumvent geoblocks like this.
Bradbury said the UK government does plan to sanction companies that do not follow the law and fail to introduce AV technology. “Over the first twelve months, we’ll likely see a slow rollout where only the major players [like Clips4Sale, MyFreeCams and the MindGeek empire] are targeted,” he explained. “But once the ball is rolling, the regulator can go after any porn site that it deems inappropriate.”
Or, to completely avoid the tech complications, it’s also possible for a site to preemptively decide to just refuse UK-based performers or members. This is unlikely for large, wealthy companies like MyFreeCams and MindGeek, who can afford to introduce the required AV measures, but could be bad news for smaller companies and independent website owners who perhaps cannot afford to implement this technology.
Bradbury said, “There is a pretty high chance that casual consumers will simply seek out adult content elsewhere. The privacy concerns around verifying your age online is a big turn-off, so to speak… the extra effort combined with financial cost of purchasing a PortesCard in person is probably going to be a step too far when you can simply go to Twitter instead.”
In other words, why would a casual porn consumer from the UK go through the hassle of verifying their age when they can search for it on unblocked sites like Twitter and Reddit? Some more dedicated UK porn consumers (eg people who already regularly spend money on porn/cam sites) might just bite the bullet and verify their age the way the UK government wants them to. They could also invest in a VPN for a few dollars/euros/pounds a month, which not only masks your location but also encrypts your connection so no one (not even internet service providers or government agencies) can spy on your web activity.
If there is a noticeable uptick in UK residents getting VPNs (presumably, to circumvent the AV requirements), this might also set a dangerous precedent for the UK banning the personal use of VPNs. The legislation is wide open for interpretation, and the UK government will be able to rebuke/attack/censor any online platform it deems inappropriate enough.
What about model identity verification?
Models are already required to submit copies of government identification in order to be an independent contractor for (most, reputable) adult content sites. Companies that comply with United States law should have dedicated 2257 statements easily available – see AmateurPorn, ManyVids, Clips4Sale and MyFreeCams, for examples. US law already requires that your IDs, regardless of your country of residence, are checked and must be verified/accepted by these companies before you are allowed to work.
Many of the adult sites common among the cammunity comply with the 2257 law, verifying that everyone who appears on their sites are age 18 or older. Under the UK porn ban, Bradbury said independent contractors will probably not be required to submit additional verification because of the pre-existing AV requirement already in place on most commercial adult sites. Once these sites introduce AV technology to comply with the new law, however, before anyone with a UK IP address can access a porn site, or create or log in to an existing member account, they will still have to submit some form of AV. Even if you’re a model who has already been age-verified, the device won’t know that.
Additionally, the UK government will require that you complete the AV process in some form before you can view pornographic content. For this reason, Bradbury said that we “can assume a PortesCard or online AV process will need to be completed to take part in cam-to-cam activities.” This affects UK models who work on sites, such as MyFreeCams, Streamate and others, that offer a cam2cam feature. It is unclear whether these sites will allow UK-based models to bypass the AV pop-up in order to log in to their already age-verified accounts, or if they will be required to resubmit their IDs for verification or go through the new AV process before continuing to work.
Starting July 15, I suppose we’ll find out.
Update (June 20, 2019): The Guardian is reporting that the UK’s age-verification system will be delayed for “around six months” because the government failed to inform the EU of its plans. Read more here.
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Alsanna James is a student, advocate, spoonie, writer, gamer and adult content creator. Half silent oracle, half professional sexpot, you can email her at alsanna@ynotcam.com and find her on Twitter at @AlsannaJames.
