Marcus Johnstone, solicitor and managing director, has appeared on Sky News in an interview with their technology correspondent Mickey Carroll, discussing new regulations restricting children from accessing online pornography and other extreme internet content.
Today is the deadline for pornographic websites that operate in the United Kingdom to introduce age-verification technology in compliance with new regulations under the Online Safety Act 2024.
Companies that host adult content are now required to accept proof of age by users, which may include age estimation facial recognition technology or identification documentation, like a passport or drivers' license. Platforms that fail to comply with these regulations may be subject to 'geo-blocking', where British-based devices cannot access their servers.
Although Marcus described the new measures as a 'welcome step', he cautioned that these restrictions may have significant inadvertent consequences, including redirecting curious children towards more dangerous fringe or illegal websites.
'Major porn websites like PornHub will now impose age verification checks, making it much harder for children to access mainstream pornographic platforms,' he said.
'This is positive, but will inevitably lead to teenagers attempting to access adult material on the increasing number of smaller, more fringe websites that are not subject to the same internal safeguards as the porn giants.'
Speaking to The Independent, Marcus added that he has seen 'little evidence' that attempts to 'geo-block' noncompliant platforms cannot be easily circumvented, including by using a VPN.
Marcus was also quoted by the Huffington Post, warning that rules restricting access to websites like PornHub will do nothing to protect children from grooming and exploitation on popular messaging and social media platforms like Kik and Snapchat.
You can read the interviews in full and watch Marcus on Sky News from this afternoon by visiting our press and media portal.