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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think face scanning for age verification for porn is a great idea?

250 replies

AdamRyan · 05/12/2023 11:16

The Government are considering how to prevent children from accessing porn and are looking into face scanning technology.

I think this is a good idea as we already use facial recognition for verification on banks etc and if people are adults they should not feel embarassed about their choice to watch porn so no problem.

Privacy campaigners are worried about potential for blackmail though. Wish they were as worried about men illegally uploading films of their OHs having sex with them....

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-67615719

IABU - I think porn doesn't need age verification/existing verification is good enough

IANBU - this is a good idea

A teenage boy head out of frame using a mobile phone (stock image)

UK porn watchers could have faces scanned

New draft guidance sets out how porn websites and apps should stop children viewing their content.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-67615719

OP posts:
Nicesalad · 05/12/2023 11:20

Face scanning generally is a bad idea and there's a definite potential for things to go wrong or be abused .

Sapphire387 · 05/12/2023 11:22

Yeah I think it is a good idea to stop children accessing harmful content.

As I understand it, a lot of porn is now misogynistic and violent so I have no concerns about the so-called privacy of people who want to look at that sort of stuff.

Galiana · 05/12/2023 11:25

I'd rather see a complete ban.

I can't think of any good reason for the pornography industry as it is today to exist.

I'm interested to hear otherwise.

SuePine69 · 05/12/2023 11:32

If you had a ban on pornography every teenage boy would have a USB drive with lots of mp4 files on it. They would swap them. These videos would probably be more likely to be the violent and misogynistic type and they would never get to see examples of the vast majority of films which aren't violent or misogynistic.

Scaevola · 05/12/2023 11:33

Loaded choices

YABU because you are assuming that porn is only available on sites that are tidily labelled as porn.

It's false reassurance at best.

If you really want to protect your DC, then the best thing to do is use device-based filters and both supervise and educate them.

And I'd like to see the government putting resources into informing parents about what they can already do (because that will bring greater protection to DC than this)

StrictlyComeSnoozing · 05/12/2023 11:35

It just won't work. You'd jump on a VPN and bypass the facial recognition thing no problem.

I think parents need to take more responsibility. Stop allowing your children to have devices that they can use privately, without ever being checked.

The facial recognition will be no more effective than the current WiFi controls are.

StickyStickMick · 05/12/2023 11:36

I fully support this. Yes it will not 100% solve the problem but it’s a step in the right direction.

oldwhyno · 05/12/2023 11:37

shit choices you've offered there. I think it's a good idea to raise the barriers between children and online porn, but facial recognition is not the way to do it.

DdraigGoch · 05/12/2023 11:39

I doubt that it would work

AnonnyMouseDave · 05/12/2023 11:40

I haven't got a clue!

In my view there are a number of things which I am certain about. There is far too much porn. Most porn is utterly vile (misogynistic and violent). It is far too easy to access.

My suspicion is that any attempts to crack down will either fail completely or do a much better job of stopping middle aged men accessing porn than it does tech savvy teens. Weed needs to be grown and physically transported and the government has completely and utterly failed to restrict supply at all, so how the hell is it going to restrict supply of computer files that can be shared anywhere in the word instantly and anonymously?

In my view the only relevant question is "how do we reduce the massive harm that porn does?" and the only realistic answer to that is to make a massive effort to educate EVERYONE (but especially teen boys, and teen girls) that for the vast majority of people good sex does not look anything like 99.99% of porn sex. I hope I am wrong and other things can also work.

Original poster
AdamRyan · 05/12/2023 11:41

SuePine69 · 05/12/2023 11:32

If you had a ban on pornography every teenage boy would have a USB drive with lots of mp4 files on it. They would swap them. These videos would probably be more likely to be the violent and misogynistic type and they would never get to see examples of the vast majority of films which aren't violent or misogynistic.

Oh come off it "Sue"
Pornhub is full of violent misogynistic porn. When I was a teen and there was no Internet, the boys used to get a thrill out of titty mags they found dumped in hedges, and catalogue models. They are teenage boys! They don't need hard-core to get aroused!

OP posts:
Original poster
AdamRyan · 05/12/2023 11:42

oldwhyno · 05/12/2023 11:37

shit choices you've offered there. I think it's a good idea to raise the barriers between children and online porn, but facial recognition is not the way to do it.

How would you do it?
The choices are driven by the article snd MN binary voting

OP posts:
minipie · 05/12/2023 11:42

Privacy campaigners are worried about potential for blackmail though

If there’s something you’d be so ashamed of watching that it could be used to blackmail you, maybe, just maybe you shouldn’t be watching it?

Fieldofbrokenpromises · 05/12/2023 11:44

It won't work. All of our (UK) laws in relation to the Internet are overridden by what the USA wants to do.
US corporations routinely ignore EU and UK laws in relation to the internet with impunity, and most porn is coming from the USA who will set their own restrictions (i.e. none)

35965a · 05/12/2023 11:44

Surely people intent on accessing it would use a VPN anyway? Which isn’t exactly difficult to do.

Scaevola · 05/12/2023 11:45

AdamRyan · 05/12/2023 11:41

Oh come off it "Sue"
Pornhub is full of violent misogynistic porn. When I was a teen and there was no Internet, the boys used to get a thrill out of titty mags they found dumped in hedges, and catalogue models. They are teenage boys! They don't need hard-core to get aroused!

Show quote history

Even the poorest performing device based filter will block that site

This is why I think the government needs to put resources in to educating parents on how to keep their DC safer online.

TurnTheDamnedLightsOff · 05/12/2023 11:46

People are entitled to privacy around their sex lives so long as what they're engaging with is legal and consensual.

Equally as someone else mentioned EU and UK laws regularly get over ridden on a global scale so I'm not sure how this will be policed.

Scaevola · 05/12/2023 11:48

AdamRyan · 05/12/2023 11:42

How would you do it?
The choices are driven by the article snd MN binary voting

Show quote history

How about

YABU - this won't work because porn isn't only on porn sites (and filters already deal with sites labelled as porn)

YANBU - every site that ever hosts porn worldwide will of course sign up to this and so it might cover what filters struggle with

(edited SPAG)

DumboHimalayan · 05/12/2023 11:52

minipie · 05/12/2023 11:42

Privacy campaigners are worried about potential for blackmail though

If there’s something you’d be so ashamed of watching that it could be used to blackmail you, maybe, just maybe you shouldn’t be watching it?

There's plenty of stuff I do that I'm not "so ashamed of" (much of which is perfectly legal) but which nevertheless I don't want everybody in my life knowing about.

I don't want the government monitoring my bank account, I don't want the police having automatic access to my phone, car and home without justification, I don't want my face scanned to access legal content online, and I don't want everyone I know having access to any and all information about me. Why is protecting a basic level of privacy considered unnecessary by so many people? Chucking it away won't protect children, and is a likely permanent loss of freedom.

TurnTheDamnedLightsOff · 05/12/2023 11:52

The easier way should be porn sites and any site known to host easily accessible porn (such as Reddit) are automatically blocked but ISPs. Fewer places for data to breach then so they can then bring in ID checks etc because they should already be in place to have the contract set up.

"But what about VPNs?" Again it could be a policy on VPNs to need ID to use them.

Take the requirement away from the sites and onto the systems we use to access the internet.

user1497207191 · 05/12/2023 11:53

AdamRyan · 05/12/2023 11:41

Oh come off it "Sue"
Pornhub is full of violent misogynistic porn. When I was a teen and there was no Internet, the boys used to get a thrill out of titty mags they found dumped in hedges, and catalogue models. They are teenage boys! They don't need hard-core to get aroused!

Show quote history

When I was at school in the 80s, hard core porn, beastiality, kiddy porn etc was passed around the playground. Being supposedly banned didn't stop teenagers getting hold of it. The only difference is the medium, i.e. back then it was mucky magazines, now it's the internet. Go back into history and some Egyptian heiroglyphs in temples and tombs were pretty hard core porn!

Education is the key, not control. As other posters have said, being illegal hasn't stopped the drugs trade.

Ifailed · 05/12/2023 11:57

This would only work for content providers hosting in the UK, which due to the expense will be very little anyway.

Original poster
AdamRyan · 05/12/2023 12:57

user1497207191 · 05/12/2023 11:53

When I was at school in the 80s, hard core porn, beastiality, kiddy porn etc was passed around the playground. Being supposedly banned didn't stop teenagers getting hold of it. The only difference is the medium, i.e. back then it was mucky magazines, now it's the internet. Go back into history and some Egyptian heiroglyphs in temples and tombs were pretty hard core porn!

Education is the key, not control. As other posters have said, being illegal hasn't stopped the drugs trade.

Show quote history

Cool story 😎
There is no such thing as "kiddy porn" - it's child abuse and definitely wasn't getting handed round the playground

OP posts:
Original poster
AdamRyan · 05/12/2023 12:59

Ifailed · 05/12/2023 11:57

This would only work for content providers hosting in the UK, which due to the expense will be very little anyway.

You can target consumers based in the UK regardless of where the content is hosted, and couple with a "no vpn" policy
How do you think paying subscription services work? Of course you can block users based on their location

OP posts:
ANightingale · 05/12/2023 13:03

Leaving aside the rights and wrongs of porn and the impact of overseas technology - I am not convinced this would be reliable in the technical sense.

Is someone aged 17 years, 364 days going to scan as a different age to someone aged 18? Nope. You might argue that no real harm would be done with incorrect results near the age boundaries but where is the line going to be drawn? An old-looking 15 year old getting through, while a youthful 19 year old doesn't?