Porn block in UK set to be delayed indefinitely for second time

Changes designed to block children’s access to sexually explicit material would be first of their kind anywhere in the world

The introduction of age-verification measures on pornography sites to prevent children from seeing their content has been delayed for six months due to an “administrative oversight”.

The changes, the first of their kind anywhere in the world, were due to come into force on 15 July, requiring porn sites by law to carry out “robust age-verification checks on users”.

Under the plans, websites that fail to implement the rules face having payment services withdrawn or being blocked for UK users.

But Jeremy Wright, the culture secretary, told the House of Commons on Thursday the plans were being pushed back – having already been delayed from April last year.

He said the guidelines setting out standards for companies around the age-verification process were not submitted to the European Commission as they should have been.

“Upon learning of this administrative oversight I have instructed my department to notify this guidance to the EU,” Mr Wright said.

“However, I expect this will result in a delay of six months.”

He said an investigation into the error was underway to ensure it didn’t happen again.

Mr Wright added: “In the meantime, there is nothing to stop responsible providers of online pornography implementing age verification mechanisms on a voluntary basis and I hope and expect many will do so.”

The government has previously said users will be able to verify their age in a number of ways, including using traditional forms of ID such as a credit card or passport, or by buying an over-the-counter card from shops where verification would take place face to face.

Announcing the measures in April, Margot James, the digital minister, said: “Adult content is currently far too easy for children to access online. The introduction of mandatory age-verification is a world-first and we’ve taken the time to balance privacy concerns with the need to protect children from inappropriate content.

“We want the UK to be the safest place in the world to be online and these new laws will help us achieve this.”

The British Board of Film Classification, which classifies movies in the UK, is due to be the age verification regulator.

Campaigners have raised concerns over the tools, however, warning that they could have consequences for user privacy.

Jim Killock, executive director of the Open Rights Group, previously told The Independent it was a “privacy time bomb”.

“Due to the sensitive nature of age verification data, there needs to be a higher standard of protection than the baseline which is offered by data protection legislation,” he said.

Additional reporting by the Press Association