Some of you may be aware and some may not – but in April 2018 an age verification requirement will go into effect in the United Kingdom. As part of the Digital Economy Act all adult websites will need to comply with insuring that their visitors and customers are 18 years of age or older. Yes, even visitors to your website will need to be verified before being able to enter.
And this is not the simple “Enter Here if You Are 18” that many sites now use in the US. This will require websites to actually check the ages of the surfers. No more free porn to minors in the UK!
Under the yet-to-be-implemented measures, free and fee-based porn operators—many of which are based outside of the UK —will be required to insert age checkers on their sites in the UK, forcing users to dish up their credit card details to prove that they are 18 or over before being granted access to their content.
Companies that do not implement these methods by April 2018 could face repercussions, like being blocked by internet service providers, paying a fine, or being denied access to payment websites like PayPal.
Under the new law, online porn sites are threatened with a fine of £250,000 ($335,000 US) or 5 percent of their annual profits if they are caught failing to verify the age of any of their users.
The British Board of Film Classification will be responsible for implementing the new policy.
What does this mean for you ? If you do business in the United Kingdom – meaning – is your website accessible by anyone in the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) then you will need to comply with the law. You can also obviously block any IP addresses coming from one of these countries if you decide that you do not want to comply but then you lose out on all of your UK members and potential sales.
For more information –
http://www.wired.co.uk/article/porn-block-ban-in-the-uk-age-verifcation-law
AdultBizLaw.com 
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