Porn age checks goal is in sight

CARE's campaign for porn protection nears completion, writes Ross Hendry

New measures designed to prevent children accessing online pornography will soon become law after the UK Government’s Online Safety Bill cleared its final hurdle in parliament. As the CEO of a Christian charity that has spent years campaigning for this change, I’m relived that we’re nearing the point where long-overdue protections are in place. Once the Bill receives Royal Assent and is implemented, age checks will be mandatory for all users seeking to access porn sites. Social media companies exposing children to porn will also face stiff penalties if they fail to comply with new rules, with state regulator Ofcom responsible for enforcement.

It’s not just pornography that’s being tackled – the online safety regime is vast. “Harmful” material targeted by its provisions will include content relating to drugs and weapons, revenge porn, self-harm, and suicide. A controversial 'legal but harmful' that made the bill an overbroad threat to free speech was removed by the government last year. At CARE, we’ve stressed the need to see vulnerable groups such as children better protected from a rage of harms, but we’ve particularly focused on pornography – a long-running concern. The corrosive effects of porn on children, and society at large, are increasingly clear, and shocking.

Most younger children encounter pornography online by accident. Robust age verification measures will help prevent the youngest and most vulnerable kids being exposed to content that is disturbing and damaging to them. We are proud to have drafted amendments to the Online Safety Bill and worked with other charities including Barnardo’s and CEASE to have them accepted. For older children, the impact of pornography is evident in the alarming rise of sexual harassment in schools. Our societal response to this issue must involve curbing young people’s access to porn. Pornographic sites glorify sexual violence and amplify toxic attitudes.

When you look back over the years, it’s shocking to think that some groups have stood in the way of age checks on pornographic content. Lobbyists demanded that previous legislation designed to enact age checks be abandoned, arguing for a supposed right of access to sexually explicit material, without restraint. Such a position lacked empathy for the vulnerable and was logically inconsistent. We require age checks for access to alcohol, tobacco, gambling products, knives, and a host of other materials. It is obvious that a child should not be able to access these things. The technology exists to require this, safely and whilst ensuring the privacy of adults.

As we anticipate the implementation of age checks, it’s important to stress that we have not reached the end of the road. The Online Safety Bill requires that new measures be enforced within 18 months. Parliament has done its job and all eyes now shift to Ofcom, which will be responsible for implementing the new law. Parents across the UK desire meaningful action to protect their children from vile online content. Children themselves desperately need new protections, given the immense harms associated with pornography. More dither and delay with these measures is simply not an option. We will be urging fast action in the months ahead.

For now, we are thankful to God that after a long, persistent campaign by CARE and other charities, supported by tens-of-thousands of concerned Christians across the UK, politicians have finally sought to do the right thing. I’d encourage anyone reading this who has a burden for this issue to continue praying for a few things. First, we need to pray that the law would be implemented quickly and effectively. We need to pray that websites and social media companies that have failed children are held to account. And we need to pray that any scheme seeking to frustrate or undermine the online safety regime comes to nothing.

More broadly, let’s pray that the terrible impact of pornography is recognised more in our society, and addressed. It is essential that we reject the harmful approach to sex advocated in this industry, and instead stress the right purpose and place for sex: within the committed marriage relationship. The church exists to herald God’s better story for human beings in the many spheres of life Christians engage with. Let’s point to a better way to approach sex and relationships and continue to speak against forces seeking to cause harm.