The British government has announced that anyone attempting to view pornography will be subjected to age verification checks. Starting in July, internet users will be required to prove that they are over the age of 18.
The initiative, launched by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport, aims to reduce the risk of young people stumbling across explicit content and insists that an overwhelming majority of parents have backed the plan.
“The move is backed by 88% of UK parents with children aged 7-17, who agree there should be robust age-verification controls in place to stop children seeing pornography online,” the department announced.
What if websites don’t play by the rules?
Any pornographic website that fails to implement an age verification system will face having “payment services withdrawn or being blocked for UK users.”
Critics, however, argue there will still be plenty of ways around the new restrictions. For example, it will remain legal to use virtual private networks (VPNs), which can be employed to make it appear as if a UK-based computer is located elsewhere, thus bypassing the checks.
With that being said, Minister for Digital Margot James is confident that the new system will help protect young eyes from such harmful content, noting that it is not an all-encompassing, “silver bullet” fix.
“The safest place in the world to be online”
“Adult content is currently far too easy for children to access online,” James said in a statement.
“The introduction of mandatory age-verification is a world-first, and we’ve taken the time to balance privacy concerns with the need to protect children from inappropriate content,” she added. “We want the UK to be the safest place in the world to be online, and these new laws will help us achieve this.”
In 2014, it was reported that the UK’s most popular porn website had been visited over 100 million times in one year.
Despite some pushback from pro-porn advocates over the UK’s latest effort to curb underage usage, the research is quite clear — porn is highly destructive.
Moreover, for those who are seeking to follow Jesus, it can be nothing short of spiritually devastating.
“When we look at porn, we feel shame, which leads to isolation,” notes porn accountability service, Covenant Eyes.
This is a truly horrible place to be. The problem is, porn usage is not only a soul-destroying habit, but it can often feel like an addiction that is almost impossible to break.
However, there are ways to fight back. One effective way to combat the snare of lust and addiction as a Christian is to look at the deeper root causes as to why you are turning to porn instead of God for strength and comfort.
And that’s where Faithwire can help.
Faithwire has teamed up with some prominent Christian faith leaders to create an online course for those longing to be set free from pornography’s grip on their lives.
“Set Free” is a seven-week video series to help those fighting sexual sin. The e-course will equip participants with the spiritual and practical tools they need to get pornography out of their lives. For more information about the study or to enroll, click here.
So, while these man-made restrictions on porn usage may be beneficial as a whole, let’s remember that it is Jesus Christ who possesses the power to change our desires and lead us into true and lasting freedom.