Protecting kids from porn

Business Daily

The UK plans to introduce compulsory age verification for anyone in the country to access online porn - but is this a good way of restricting children's access, or a serious threat to privacy?

Ed Butler speaks to Jim Killock, executive director of Open Rights Group, who fears that the move could have terrible unforeseen consequences if it enabled for example a major leak of data about people's identities and porn habits. Systems of blocking access to children do already exist, as Alastair Graham, co-chair of the Age Verification Providers Association, explains.

But ultimately is relying on technology to stop children stumbling across graphic hardcore images enough? Claire Levens of advocacy group Internet Matters, who welcomes the move, says parents also need to be willing to open up a dialogue with their own children.

(Picture: Young boy looking at phone screen; Credit: Clark and Company/Getty Images)