The Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) introduced an amendment to the Digital Economy Bill that will eventually give the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) the power to block sites that fail to abide by the upcoming rules. The BBFC will have the authority to go to any Internet Service Provider (ISP) and demand that certain websites be blocked if they do not follow the government's adult verification requirements.

 

The law will also allow the government to demand payment providers like Visa and PayPal to deny processing for sites that aren't in compliance.

 

"Only adults should be allowed to view such content and we have appointed a regulator, BBFC, to make sure the right age checks are in place to make that happen," Karen Bradley, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, said. "If sites refuse to comply, they should be blocked." 

 

“The government is committed to keeping children safe from harmful pornographic content online and that is exactly what we are doing," she added.

 

And it is not only UK-based sites that will be targeted. Any site that is being viewed in the UK will be subject to the promised legislation.

 

"Overseas providers will still be incentivised to comply by the elements of the scheme which will disrupt their income streams," a spokesperson for the BBFC said, "and ISP blocking powers greatly increase the chance of effectiveness of the whole regime."

 

How sites are expected to verify the age of each visitor -- such as entering credit card or other personal information -- has yet to be determined, but it will have a chilling effect on the amount of traffic porn sites receive.

 

This is one time the Queen really needs to speak up. Everyone knows she loves her porn, and she is not amused with the upcoming changes.