UK newsagents to sell “porn passes” to the over 18

Pornography and newsagents are to be bound together once more, with a proposed solution to new UK legislation meaning local shops may sell “porn passes” to customers over the age of 18.

The passes are the idea of the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), which is responsible for enforcing recent regulations that force anyone viewing pornography online in the UK to prove their age and identity. The rule is part of the Digital Economy Act, is intended to protect children from accessing explicit material, and has been delayed from its original April rollout.   

According to The Telegraph, the “porn pass” solution will involve going to a newsagent and buying a 16-digit code along with your bread and milk. The shopkeeper might ask you to prove your age if you look younger than 18, much like they would if you were buying alcohol or cigarettes. The paper reports that the pass will cost £10.

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The pass system is being proposed as one solution to the problem of verifying identity, but keeping a level of anonymity. It is believed other systems will be put in place online that will let you confirm your age using a passport or a credit card, although users may understandably be unsure about using this personal information in connection to pornography. Last year, a leading privacy advocacy group warned that impelling viewers to put in credit card details would lead to an “inevitable” data breach:

“If the age-verification process continues in its current fashion, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime treasure trove of private information,” Myles Jackman, legal director of the Open Rights Group, told the BBC. “If it gets hacked, can British citizens ever trust the government again with their data?”

Privacy advocates point to the 2015 Ashley Madison hack as an example of what could go wrong, where details about the adultery website’s users leaked online – leading to blackmail, suicide and breakups. The “porn pass” system could help to stop something similar happening with a database of UK porn users, as viewers would only need to buy a code from their newsagent rather than inputting sensitive information online.

MindGeek, owner of sites including Pornhub, YouPorn and RedTube, has said it will use its own one-time verification tool, called AgeID. The system will give access to all of the company’s sites with a single login. Aside from the implications of a data breach, critics have also warned that giving a dominant porn player a level of regulatory power will force out smaller studios and independent porn makers.