From today, new rules from the UK’s communications regulator Ofcom state that websites operating in the UK with pornographic content must ensure users’ ages are “robustly” checked.
The new regulations are designed to keep children safe from accessing inappropriate content and require users of porn sites to verify their ages via methods including selfies, credit card checks and photo ID matching. Websites ignoring the new laws could face heavy fines.
While the emphasis of today’s news is on young people not viewing porn, we should also be aware of any potential implications for our industry, and consider how online content is presented.
The Ofcom rules
Page 19 of Ofcom’s Guidance on Content Harmful to Children – “ Descriptions and examples of content that are not pornographic” – covers “Marketing material and depictions used for the promotion and sale of sex toys and sexual wellness products”. Examples of appropriate content given by Ofcom are: “Depictions that focus on a sex toy or sexual wellness product ‘as is’ rather than ‘in use’, and that do not show full frontal nudity or genitalia”, and “Descriptions of the efficacy and features of sex toys or sexual wellness products, that are designed for the promotion, sale and/or consumption of the product, rather than sexual arousal”.
However, some distributors’ websites are already impacted by Google’s safe search feature, which blocks sites from featuring in some adult searches.
Physical retail shops
As far as retail is concerned, stores with a council licence for their physical premises already require customers who don’t appear to be 18 to prove their age. And, as we know, sexual wellness products are available on the shelves of mainstream high-street retailers, more visually obvious than tobacco.
Perhaps the other consideration for retailers is the impact of recent cyber attacks. Adult users of pornographic sites may potentially be reluctant to give out highly personal information. Perhaps this is a time to dust off those DVD shelves…
If your business has been affected by the new regulations, we’d love to hear from you. Email us at [email protected].
(image: Ioana Han/Unsplash)
