Yahoo News The government has announced a review into the porn industry - here's what that means
The porn industry is to be scrutinised as part of a government review that hopes to tackle abuse, exploitation, and the harmful impact of pornography, it has been announced.
From human trafficking to illegal pornography and questions around age limitations when it comes to accessing to graphic content, efforts into how to tackle the dangers associated with the online sex industry has been something women’s charities have long been calling for.
The Pornography Review, which has been announced by the government on 1 December, follows the passing of the much-delayed Online Safety Act earlier this year which introduced tighter regulation around online harms, including deepfakes, trolling and bullying.
It will be led by Baroness Gabby Bertin, who will assess the prevalence and impact viewing illegal pornography has on users of all ages, including on viewers’ attitudes towards violence against women and girls.
The review will also assess the “emerging challenges from AI generated pornography”, such as deepfake pornography - often created without consent - as well as considerations around whether current legal frameworks are in place to effectively tackle illegal pornographic content.
Regulatory body Ofcom will be enforcing new rules that will aim to stop children accessing explicit content.
Draft guidance by the watchdog has suggested that porn users could have their faces scanned to verify their age.
Ofcom has outlined how it expects firms to comply with the new regulations when come into force sometime in 2025, saying age checks must be "highly effective at correctly determining whether or not a particular user is a child".
Age checks will be required to go beyond self-declaration, with a number of methods being suggested, alongside facial recognition software.
Concerns around whether online regulations mirror those already in place offline will also be addressed.
Human trafficking in the illegal porn industry is another central concern of the review, which seeks to determine its prevalence and set out recommendations as to how to tackle it.
Lead reviewer Baroness Bertin said: “The past two decades have seen a dramatic change in the way we consume media and interact with content online. Pornography regulation now needs to reflect this change.
“The ease with which people can access harmful and illegal pornography is having a devastating impact on many areas of our lives but it is particularly damaging and degrading to women and girls. A key aspect of the review will be assessing the links between pornography, exploitation and a culture of violence towards women and girls.”
In response to news of the review, Sophie Francis-Cansfield, head of external affairs at Women’s Aid told Cosmopolitan UK that a consent-based approach must be the focus of any new legislation, as well as collaboration from online platforms.
“At present, there is a prevalence of harmful pornographic content online - from content that sexualises children, through to pornography that depicts incest or sexual violence, normalising online what should, and must be, completely unacceptable," said Francis-Cansfield.
She continued: “We are concerned about the societal impacts that this sort of extreme and harmful content can have. The viewing and prevalence of such harmful pornographic content can play a dangerous role in perpetuating gender inequality, and normalising violence towards women and girls, abusive sexual behaviours and domestic abuse.
“It is vital that any new legislation on pornographic material drives progress towards a consent-based culture and requires online platforms to be transparent and proactive in preventing and tackling online violence against women and girls.”
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