Government to extend age-verification to social media

Culture secretary Margot James admits plans to extend adult website age verification to social media websites

Margot James MP, Minister of State for Digital and Culture, has admitted that the government is planning to extend laws mandating age verification for adult websites to social media.

James admitted that plans under questioning in Westminster yesterday while giving evidence to the House of Commons Science and Technology Select Committee.

Asked why social media wasn't being subjected to the same age-verification regime that the government is imposing on adult websites, James claimed that this was "a weakness" in the legislation and added that the government is monitoring the level of adult material on social media.

"We will keep a watching brief on how effective those age verification techniques turn out to be with the commercial [adult website] providers. We will also keep a close eye on how social media platforms develop in terms of the extent of pornographic material on those platforms, particularly if they are platforms that appeal to children."

However, in a statement to the Daily Telegraph, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport admitted that plans were already well advanced. In a statement, it said: "We hope to have the legislation in place by the end of the year, subject to Parliamentary proceedings. The powers will then come into force following a three-month implementation period."

The revelation that the government is actively planning to extend age verification to social media websites came at the same time that James admitted that the scheme has been subject to new delays.

Originally pushed back from Easter to December, the checks will be at least a year late when they are finally introduced.

Parliament and the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) have still to agree on the precise system to be implemented, said James, and added that there would then need to be a period of three-months for it to be implemented by website operators - most of whom operate beyond the UK's legal reach.

The law, introduced under the Digital Economy Act of 2017, requires operators of adult websites to implement their own age-verification systems, but must first submit these for approval to the BBFC, which has been appointed to oversee the system.

James told the Committee that all this was taking longer than anticipated.

She said: "We can expect it to be in force by Easter of next year… I am hopeful of getting a slot to debate it before the end of the year. We have always said that we will permit the industry three months of getting up-to-speed with the practicalities, and delivering the age verification that they will be required by law to deliver.

"We have also had to establish with the British Board of Film Classification… and they have had to consult on the methods of age verification."

Computing's Security Excellence Awards return on Wednesday 21 November. Celebrating the achievements of the IT industry's best security companies, products, personalities and achievements, there's no bigger honour than winning in Computing's Security Excellence Awards 2018