Britain's most tattooed man can't bypass new age check rules
We all know tattoos are permanent and can cause issues for some narrow-minded employers, but one man has had an unexpected issue thanks to his facial inkings.
Going by the name of King of Ink Land (but legally known as Matthew Whelan), the 45-year-old is the UK's most tattooed man.
He's understandably used to getting a lot of attention, particularly for the tattoos, which cover his entire face.
Whelan claims that 90% of his body is covered in ink, and estimates that he has more than 300 tattoos.
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He has previously run into trouble at work, saying one employer 'hid' him thanks to his choice of body modifications.
Now, King Of Ink Land, who hails from Birmingham, has found another problem thanks to his face tatts.
He has been rejected by facial recognition services, and is in a bit of a pickle as he can no longer access certain websites.
After spending more than 1,600 hours under the needle, he says the new government legislation is causing problems for him.
Last Friday, July 25, the Online Safety Act began in the UK.
The new legislation requires explicit websites - whether that's pornography or violence - to request age verification checks in order to prevent underage users from accessing them.
Websites such as Pornhub, YouPorn, RedTube and LiveHDCams have all signed up to the legislation.
Whelan was trying to access a webcam site, when he was asked to verify his identity.
One of the methods of verification involves uploading details of a credit card, and a selfie which matches one form of ID.
Unfortunately, the system could not recognise him because of all of the tattoos.
“It keeps asking me to remove my face,” he told Need To Know.
“I can’t just do a Nicholas Cage or John Travolta like in Face/Off," he quipped.
“All this proves is that technology and AI are discriminatory and not set up for people with facial tattoos,” he said.
“I feel like I’m being punished for being me," he added.
“No matter how different or alternative you look, there is no place for discrimination – especially from technology.”
This isn't the first time this has happened to the King Of Ink Land either, saying he has previously failed ID checks due to his name and ink.
“I’m used to having my ID declined sometimes because of my legal name and tattoos.
“But constantly asking me to remove my ‘mask’ is frustrating.
“This is who I am; Why is it trying to change me?”
He says he is now considering turning to a VPN so that he can bypass the checks.
Other users have used pictures of super-realistic video game characters to fool the system.
Jen Thomas