As part of the Online Safety Bill, all sites that publish pornography will have to age-check their users.
The government is insisting its amendments to the Online Safety Bill will keep children safe on the internet.Safety groups say it's too easy for children to access pornography online.
As part of the bill, all sites that publish pornography will have to put in enhanced checks to ensure their users really are 18 or over.This could include adults using secure age verification technology to prove that they possess a credit card and are over 18, or having a third-party service confirm their age against government data.
There were proposals to use what's known as porn blockers - which would have forced commercial porn providers to verify users' ages or face a UK ban - butWill Gardner, CEO of Childnet International, told the BBC: "In the offline world we have robust systems to prevent children from accessing things which may harm them.
According to online safety group Internet Matters, more than half of mothers fear it gives their children a poor portrayal of women. Despite the widespread use of age verification technology in sectors such as online gambling, there are still fears it poses privacy risks. Campaigners have warned that a database of pornography users would be a huge hacking target for blackmailers.
Ms Horten added the only alternative would be to "guess the age" of users with AI systems using biometric data which she said "raised serious privacy concerns".
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