UK Porn Age Verification Rules Will Not Start On April 1st

New UK legislation that effectively bans citizens from accessing pornographic websites without first confirming they are over 18 will not start on 1 April 2019, as has been reported.

The new rules are aimed at protecting children from potentially unsuitable and harmful websites and content.

Basically, once they come into force, anyone wishing to access any sites that can be used to watch adult videos - including popular ones like PornHub and YouPorn - will have to confirm they are old enough using a valid passport or driving licence.

However, there is no definite time-frame in place for when the rule change will actually take place.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport told LADbible that 1 April was never the planned date for the changes, nor have they set a date just yet.

Despite that, the plans - which are part of the Digital Economy Act 2017 - are going to go ahead. There's just no commencement date so far. It is expected to be announced 'shortly', however.

A spokesperson for DCMS said: "Introducing age verification is a world-leading step forward to protect children. Adult content is currently too easy to access on the internet, we're making sure the protections that exist for children offline are provided online too."

When the 'porn-blocker' comes into place, it will be the first of its kind anywhere in the world. The UK will become the first country to bring in age verification for adult content, as well as being the first country to make it illegal for providers of online porn not to carry out checks to ensure that viewers are above the legal age limit.

For most companies, that will mean using a system such as AgeID. AgeID will allow users to sign up and prove their age with a passport, driving license, or credit card.

Upon heading for your regular site, you'll be confronted by a non-pornographic landing page where you'll have to sign up.

AgeID spokesperson James Clark told The Metro: "When a user first visits a site protected by AgeID, a landing page will appear with a prompt for the user to verify their age before they can access the site,

"Each website will create their own non-pornographic landing page for this purpose."

"It is a one-time verification, with a simple single sign-on for future access. If a user verifies on one AgeID protected site, they will not need to perform this verification again on any other site carrying AgeID."

If that's not for you, you can buy a 'porn pass' known as a PortesCard from a shop. That's how to escape having to provide your email address.

You will, however, have to go into a shop and tell a real person that you want to buy a porn pass. You decide which is worse.