Online age verification legislation
The government should introduce legislation requiring providers of online services and social media platforms to implement more stringent age verification techniques on all relevant devices.
- The Online Safety Act 2023 received Royal Assent on 26 October 2023 and requires in-scope companies to assess whether their services are likely to be accessed by children and to deliver safety measures including age verification (Online Safety Act 2023, s.11-12).
- In May 2023, the government stated that this recommendation had been completed through the Online Safety Act (Government Response to IICSA Final Report, HM Government, May 2023).
How was this evidence gathered?
Response
Accepted
Response
AcceptedOn 12 May 2021, the UK government published a draft Online Safety Bill, which includes a clause that will require providers of regulated services to conduct an assessment of whether children are likely to access their service. On 29 June 2021, the UK government published online safety guidance. The guidance included advice for companies on providing an age-appropriate experience for children through using tools such as age assurance and verification methods. On 8 February 2022, the UK government announced that the Online Safety Bill will include a new legal duty that requires all sites hosting pornographic material to have age verification technology. Companies will be fined for not complying and senior managers could be held criminally liable. A second Inquiry recommendation on the need for age verification techniques online was made (see row 107).