UK government to block pornographic websites refusing to stop children from accessing explicit content

In its goal to protect children from explicit content, the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) will soon be granted powers to have Internet Service Providers (ISPs) ensure restricted access to pornographic websites not having tough measures in place to verify age of users.

Modifications to the Digital Economy Bill will be discussed next week, making it the newest tool to prevent children from accessing adult content on the Internet.

“The Government is committed to keeping children safe from harmful pornographic content online and that is exactly what we are doing. Only adults should be allowed to view such content and we have appointed a regulator, BBFC, to make sure the right age checks are in place to make that happen. If sites refuse to comply, they should be blocked,” the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Karen Bradley, said in a statement.

The said bill comprises measures to require age verification for porn sites as well as the ability to revoke payment services from sites not compliant to the rules.

This will make way for the BBFC to move further by guiding ISPs to prevent access to rogue porn sites.

The British government works with the BBFC and the ISPs to guarantee the measure’s success in protecting children from adult content.

Likewise, the government seeks cooperation from supporting services such as servers to go after offenders.

Pornography harms and distresses young children, damaging how the latter views relationships and sex all throughout their lives.

Forty-seven percent of young people age 11 to 16 had opened an adult website, according to a new survey by the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.

Meanwhile, one in five children age 11 to 17 admitted to having seen pornographic images that distraught or shocked them.

The new measure would be applicable to all websites in the U.K. and abroad.

If the adult or pornographic websites originate in the European Union, the process will fit with the rules of the country of origin.