That’s the situation anyone living in the United Kingdom could face from July if they want to view pornography online, when the British government brings in radical new laws.
Websites which primarily host porn will be required to carry out age-verification checks to ensure anyone visiting the site is over 18 years old in a bid to prevent children from accessing pornography. It’s a world first. Because of that, it’s not clear exactly how it will be implemented or if it will even be effective in preventing children from accessing pornography.
In this week’s episode of The Explainer, Caroline West, a doctoral scholar in sexuality at DCU, and TheJournal.ie’s Senior Reporter Michelle Hennessy join us in studio to examine all aspects of the new law, from privacy concerns if age verification is carried out online, the impact accessing pornography has on children under-18, the question over whether certain sexual acts are banned under the legislation, and whether Ireland is considering following the UK’s lead on this.