Isn’t age verification simply a hacker’s charter? - CEASE / Centre to End All Sexual Exploitation

Everyone agrees children shouldn’t see pornography.

Back in the day, kids might have stumbled across a stash of dirty mags under the bed. But today, kids (who are ‘digital natives’) can access unlimited amounts of hard core porn in a fraction of a second, much of it featuring violent, multi-partner sex acts: “We are talking about violent sexual content, gang rape, real and close-up images of sexual acts, all just one click away because there are no age restrictions.”¹

John Carr, head of the Children’s Coalition on Child Internet Safety, observes: ”This stuff is everywhere now because of the way technology is changing. Kids can get it on their mobile phones, through their TV sets and iPods. Tragically, porn has never been easier to access.” ²

By the UK Government’s own reckoning, every month that passes, 1.4 million children access pornography. As a result, even children as young as four are being excluded from nursery school because of their sexual actions towards other children.

Enter the Digital Economy Act, 2017

The 2015 Conservative manifesto vowed to “stop children’s exposure to harmful sexualised content online, by requiring age verification for access to all sites containing pornographic material.”³ Two years later, the Digital Economy Act legally mandated the provision of a “robust” internet age verification system for all websites publishing pornography on a regular basis, in order to prevent minors from accessing their sites. The Act also empowered a designated regulator to fine non-compliant websites.

This made the UK the first country in the world to impose any such regulation on the porn industry – though in truth it could hardly be seen as especially radical since it was only aligning the child protection standards of the offline and online worlds.

However, the response from the media was overwhelmingly negative. Almost from the word go, naysayers waded in with objections, to the point that the internet was soon awash with protest. Age Verification was labelled a “porn ban” or “hacker’s charter”, and a threat to free speech and individual liberty.⁴

Most objections to Age Verification centre on three points:

Age Verification won’t work, so why bother? The task of keeping kids from seeing hardcore porn is seen as admirable in intention but impossible in practice, because kids are technologically-savvy and will find a way around any restrictions. As one commentator observes: “Today’s kids have been able to access whatever content they wish on YouTube from the toddler stage; they set up and run their own social media channels, the same kids provide IT support for their folks; and these are the same ones that have grown up with the wide-open gate of the internet, smartphones, tablets, and high-speed broadband.”⁵ The fatalistic notion that age verification is doomed to failure, and therefore a waste of taxpayer’s money, usually considers better sex education to be the cure-all we need to nullify pornography’s harmful effects; as one observer put it,“Why are the funds the government has wasted on this nonsensical bill not being spent on sex education, which is sorely lacking […] in our schools?”⁶
Age verification will be a ‘hacker’s charter.’ Some fear age verification will massively increase the risk of data breaches. As Lee Munson, security researcher at Comparitech.com, says: “A centralised repository of personal and financial information related to the visitors of such sites is quite simply a crazy idea as it will attract hacking bees as if the database is a huge pot of irresistible honey. Spoof verification websites, hijacked websites and phishing emails will multiply as soon as proof of age becomes mandatory.”⁷ It’s anticipated that the consequences of such data breaches would be huge, potentially leading to blackmail, serious embarrassment or reputational damage. This objection tends to be driven by a strong libertarian defence of adults’ right to watch porn, and perhaps by irritation at the inconvenience of extra hoops to jump through in order to do so.
Porn shouldn’t be singled out when there’s so much other online content that’s dangerous for children. There are plenty of online voices at pains to point out that the only websites impacted by the regulations are those with at least one third of their content dedicated to pornography. Other forums and social media platforms are exempt- as are non-commercial and artistic websites.

What is the real problem here?

Before we address the objections, it’s useful to first establish just how harmful porn is for children. We instinctively know that porn is totally inappropriate for children, but few of us realise the extent of its negative effects. Porn isn’t something that just causes momentary awkwardness, confusion or embarrassment in kids; neither is it something that stops being too bad as soon as young people are educated to know the difference between porn sex and real sex.⁸

Perhaps part of the problem is that some adults don’t realise quite how hardcore, extreme and violent mainstream porn has become. Combined with the nostalgic notion that watching porn is somehow a rite of passage for children’ as they grow up and a desire to have a forward-thinking, ‘liberal’ attitude, this results in a failure to recognise what’s at stake.

In point of fact, however, many parents are concerned about their children’s access to online. According to a poll by the online safety resource, Internet Matters, Age Verification is backed by 83% of parents. The media negativity not only fails to reflect this; it also fails even to present the other side of the argument. Iain Corby of the Age Verification Providers Association warns about the danger of allowing libertarian lobbyists who reject legal online constraints on the internet to own the narrative: “This is about protecting children; it’s not about restricting what adults can do online.”⁹

Scientific fact – not “moral panic”

All over the world, our homes have been invaded by graphic, hardcore online pornography, representing perhaps the “largest unregulated social experiment in human history.”¹⁰ While some claim the jury is still out on the harms of pornography, Dr Gail Dines of the campaign group Culture Reframed says this argument really doesn’t hold water: “When you look at 30 years of empirical research, anyone who argues that porn does not have a profound impact on the social, emotional, cognitive development of kids is akin to a climate change denier.” ¹¹

Even if we have questions about the exact extent of the harm that pornography causes, surely we should hesitate before giving our children over to so great a social experiment. We know that children and adolescents are disproportionately vulnerable to the negative consequences of exposure to sexually explicit material. Looking into studies that have investigated the effects of frequent pornography consumption in adolescents, researcher Eric Owens of West Chester University and his colleagues compiled a list of associated behaviours.¹² These included:

» attitudes towards sex that regard it as primarily physical and casual, rather than affectionate and relational

» greater sexual uncertainty due to dissonance between the sexual attitudes and beliefs communicated through pornography and those instilled by families or schools

» beliefs that pornography can contribute to a more stimulating sex life

» stronger preoccupation with sex to the exclusion of other thoughts; high levels of distraction

» less progressive gender role attitudes for both males and females; acceptance of the narrative of male dominance and female submission

» increased likelihood that adolescents, regardless of gender, would regard women as sex objects, sexual playthings, eager to fulfil male sexual desires

» positive attitudes toward casual or recreational sex, uncommitted sexual exploration and extramarital sexual relations

» increased likelihood of having casual intercourse with a friend, group sex, oral sex, anal sex and using drugs or alcohol during sex

» earlier reported ages for sexual intercourse

» among boys, increased sexual harassment of female peers» increased insecurity for boys about their ability to perform sexually¹³

In short, this is not an issue for overzealous, uptight pearl-clutchers worrying about the moral corruption of our youth: it’s a core child protection issue. Its consequences don’t merely impact the individual; they are societal, because the effects of early exposure to online violent and degrading pornography have a broad, systematic impact on relationships, culture, gender relationships and the workplace:

“Extensive research has shown that porn undermines the social, emotional, cognitive, and physical health of individuals, families, and communities. These studies also demonstrate that porn shapes how we think about gender, sexuality, relationships, intimacy, sexual violence, and gender equality.”
Dr.Gail Dines¹⁴

Addressing the Objections

Age Verification won’t work, so we shouldn’t even bother.

Nobody is arguing that Age Verification is a solve-all silver bullet; determined teenagers may find a way around it. However, none of us make the same objections to real-world age checks on alcohol or tobacco, or even to online checks for gambling and the purchase of knives. In reality, huge investments have been made in age technology; that it is extremely effective- and it’s ready now. We can’t make perfect the enemy of the good.¹⁵

“The argument that children are clever enough to get round the age gate is ludicrous. We are not talking about 15-year-old computer wizards but about six- and seven-year-olds inadvertently accessing porn. In addition, the idea that, as an alternative to age verification, we should teach children about porn at such a tender age is completely outrageous.”

Baroness Floella Benjamin, OBE

Whilst porn has always been around, there hasn’t always been a powerful global porn industry until relatively recently. Of course, the “free porn” that’s so easy to get hold of isn’t there because of the industry’s altruism; rather, it’s designed to draw users in, so they become more regular consumers and, eventually, become willing to pay or subscribe to access content.

Watching porn can easily become a habit. Children’s first reaction to seeing porn is often shock and confusion, even trauma. However, porn may also trigger automatic sexual arousal, where a child’s physical reaction bypasses their higher cognitive systems. Children and young people have an under-developed prefrontal cortex (the part of the brain responsible for impulse control, judgement and empathy) and a hyperactive limbic system (which, essentially, leads them to seek out thrill, risk and novelty); these things make them particularly susceptible to porn’s appeal – and to its addictive qualities.

This is why Dr Dines, for one, refutes the myth that a global shift to age verification will have little impact on the porn industry. Whilst it’s true that young people spend little or no money on porn, their minds are nonetheless wired by watching it. As Dines explains, “Free porn is the equivalent of me hanging outside schools, giving out free packets of Marlboro and bottles of beer.” Once they’re hooked, porn sites will attempt to move users on to paid-for premium services, such as live webcams. Luring in children as consumers when they’re young and impressionable makes sense from a long-term business perspective.

We’re used to laws and regulations restricting corporations from such exploitative strategies. But from the start, governments and legislators have been notoriously lax around internet regulation, orientated towards the profitability of technology companies rather than child protection. As clinical psychologist Elly Hanson notes: “A pervasive cyber-libertarianism played a major role in legitimizing an anti-regulation ethos within industry and government despite recognition of the likely costs to children.”¹⁶

Today, the tech companies have become global corporate behemoths who market themselves as championing personal and collective freedoms. Hanson continues: “This view and its encompassing anarchist mystique have been prominent in media coverage and academic analysis of new technologies, promoting an idealized view of the lawlessness of the internet as both anti-authoritarian and radically democratic, despite it being anything but.” ¹⁷

Age verification will be a ‘hacker’s charter’.

Iain Corby describes how the new age verification technology has been “very, very carefully constructed with privacy by design.”¹⁸ All user data would be handled by independent age verification providers who would not even need to retain it once they’d issued an age check. What’s more, all data would be encrypted to make it more difficult for hackers to exploit. No data would be shared even with the porn providers themselves, who would only receive a simple yes / no answer to the question of whether or not the user was over 18.

Various other assurances have been rolled out to address concerns about privacy, for example:

a new Certification Scheme run by the appointed regulator, the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), to give added assurance about data security and privacy
Age Verification Providers Association (AVPA) members subscribe to the trade association’s code of conduct, which offers further reassurance and reduces the risk of fake AV services
a new standard developed by the British Standards Institution (BSI) and Digital Policy Alliance certifies that suppliers are conducting effective age verification (PAS 1296)¹⁹

Resistance to all forms of regulation will often evoke the lofty principles of free speech and expression – not least from the porn companies themselves. When confronted with criticism for hosting porn that depicts violence, trafficking and abuse, Pornhub told the media: “We allow all forms of sexual expression that follow our Terms of Use, and while some people may find these fantasies inappropriate, they do appeal to many people around the world and are protected by various freedom of speech laws.” As we can see, “free speech” usefully serves powerful vested interests.

In 2001, the so-called Free Speech Coalition (the porn industry’s lobbying arm) fought not for the cause of other people’s freedom, justice and human rights, but rather for a relaxation of the law so that it could legalise the depiction of children in pornography. This led to a boom in highly profitable porn that sexualises teenagers.

And it’s not just the industry. Much of today’s mainstream pornography (for example the videos that depict gang rape, sexual activity with children and coercion) is fundamentally misaligned to our legal, ethical and moral principles. Why are some porn consumers more passionate about defending their right to access this morally-unconscionable material with absolute privacy than they are about defending children’s right not to be harmed by the same?

3. Porn is being unfairly singled out when there’s so much other dangerous content for children onlineThe notion that children should be kept safe online from a spectrum of websites broader than merely porn sites has already been addressed by the UK government in its final response to the Online Harms bill (now known as the Online Safety bill): “…the government expects the regulator will take a robust approach to sites that pose the highest risk of harm to children… This may include recommending the use of age assurance or verification technologies.”²⁰

With an emphasis on breadth and proportionality, the government made it clear that smaller websites, or those posing a low risk to children, would not be overburdened with legislation – hence the introduction of “age assurance”, which means sites must assess users’ ages and tailor their safety features accordingly.

However, there is no reason not to mandate the use of age verification technologies for online pornography sites where no such nuance is necessary. We have an unquestionable obligation to keep under-18-year-olds off porn sites altogether, since they host entirely age-inappropriate content; if any industry warrants the use of age verification software, which by professional consensus offers the highest possible level of protection for children, it surely has to be the online porn industry.

Parents, teachers, healthcare professionals and practitioners are all deeply concerned about the devastating impact of online porn on children and young people. We have a duty to implement robust age verification measures to protect our most vulnerable population from the harms wreaked by a ruthless, predatory industry.