By Ian Randall For Mailonline
Published: 11:35 BST, 18 June 2019 | Updated: 11:59 BST, 18 June 2019
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The age-verifying ID checks to be instigated in the UK's new porn block could expose people's personal data alongside their sexual fantasies, experts warn.
The porn block is intended to keep children from viewing adult material online, but will require all legal porn viewers to submit personal records to prove their age.
Researchers are cautioning that proposed regulations to protect this personal data is woefully inadequate, turning the impending porn block into a 'privacy timebomb'.
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The age-verifying ID checks to be instigated in the UK's new porn block could expose people's personal data alongside their sexual fantasies, experts warn (stock pic)
From July 15, 2019, porn viewers in the UK will be required to prove that they are over the age of 18 before they can access adult material.
The UK government intends the measures to stop children from accessing adult-only materials.
IDs will be checked on both paid porn sites and free, ad-supported platforms like Pornhub and RedTube.
Many sites will be registered with the cross-platform AgeID system, which will present users with a non-pornographic AgeID landing page.
Here they will verify their age using one of a number of forms of ID, including a driver's licence, passport, credit card or mobile SMS and create an account with AgeID.
Once registered, users will be able to access adult material on any AgeID-connected website.
The age-verification checks will come into effect against UK-based porn viewers on July 15, 2019.
Commercial providers of online adult material will be required to implement ID checks or face sanctions.
However, the measures have sparked controversy, with concerns that the age-verification system could present a juicy target for hackers looking for blackmail material or to steal personal data.
These criticisms are now joined by a study from digital privacy watchdog the Open Rights Group, which cautions that the data protection regulations currently in place to protect users' private data is 'vague, imprecise and largely a "tick box" exercise.'
'With one month until roll-out, the UK porn block is a privacy timebomb,' a spokesperson for the Open Rights Group wrote in the report.
With an estimated 20 million UK adults being porn viewers — around two in every five adults — any privacy breaches could have wide-reaching consequences.
'Due to the sensitive nature of age
