Newsagents are to sell “porn passes” that will allow over-18s to access adult websites following the launch of new age-verification laws later this year.
The £10 passes, which take the form of a 16-digit code, will allow browsers to avoid giving personal details online when asked to prove their age, The Daily Telegraph reports. Instead, they will show shopkeepers identification such as a passport or driving licence when buying the pass.
A source at the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) told the newspaper that the pass would be “a fully anonymous option” for the 25 million Britons who admit to visiting X-rated sites.
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Under the new laws, which are designed to prevent children from accessing adult content, over-18s will be required to confirm their age to enter porn sites. Users can also do this by giving credit card information or driving licence details to a piece of verification software, but this has raised security concerns, says the Daily Mirror.
Gizmodo argues that storing credit card details with a third-party verification company is “bad for all sorts of reasons”, with web users facing the risk of substantial data leaks.
However, a spokesperson for the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport insisted: “We expect data security to be a high priority in the BBFC’s guidance on age verification arrangements.”
“A wide variety of online age verification solutions exist, or are in development, and they will have to abide by these high standards”, the spokesperson added.
The new age verification rules were originally due to come into effect in April, but the Government announced in March that the launch was being delayed until later this year, to allow more time “to get the implementation of the policy right”.
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