Reddit announced it will begin verifying the age of UK users and respond to new laws that will take effect this month.
“[T]Reddit Chief Legal Officer Ben Lee AKA U/Traceroo posted to R/RedditSafety on Monday.
Pornhub complies with the UK’s upcoming age verification law
The UK Online Security Act was originally passed in 2023 and requires all platforms hosting certain restricted content to establish an age verification system by July 24. While many users turn to Reddit, which is primarily family-friendly, NSFW Subreddits also have a big collection that will be part of new UK legislation.
Therefore, Reddit works with third-party age verification provider Persona. UK users who want to access restricted content need to upload a selfie or their government ID, which role will be used to verify that they are over 18 years old. Users who do not pass this check will not be able to access such content, including gender-specific content.
Reddit stresses that the system only verifies the user’s age and has no interest in your identity. Lee further noted that Persona has no idea which subreddits you visited and guarantees it won’t make the images uploaded by the user for more than 7 days. Even so, a driver’s license must be uploaded to access adult materials, and there is no doubt that many Reddit users are uncomfortable.
“Reddit will not be able to access uploaded photosReddit will The only one Keep your verification status consistent with the birthday you provide, so you don’t have to re-enter it every time you try to access restricted content,” Lee (emphasizing original). “Your birth date will never be seen by other users or advertisers and is used to support security features and an age-prone experience on Reddit. ”
While Reddit only introduces age verification for roles for users in the UK, it has also been changed in other regions. Lee also announced that the platform is offering a birthday option for users to introduce them to “optimize your Reddit experience.” Specifically, Reddit notes that this will enable them to tailor content and ads to their users’ age.
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Lee further hinted at the upcoming updates aimed at confirming whether the user is an actual human or an AI bot, noting that “more will be available later.”
“We are looking at the development of the law,” they wrote. “There is no specific timetable. We continue to advocate for alternatives that do not require platforms to require ID.”
Age verification method raises digital privacy issues
Lee also said Reddit could violate the current age verification laws.
“Is Reddit just watching or is fighting this kind of legislation?” asked user U/Shiruken. “Related notes, why can’t digital wallets on smartphones provide age/authentication for applications and services? They have your digital ID, why can’t they provide endpoints for getting the age of the owner and some kind of unique identifier?”
“Oh my God, it seems like you’re listening to my conversation with the regulator…” Lee replied.
For now, the UK Online Security Act requires individual websites to collect information from users and verify their age and extend it to the platform to ensure they comply with the law. Free speech and digital privacy experts expressed serious concern about such age verification requirements, noting that they are invalid, unenforceable and present serious privacy risks.
By contrast, a device-based system will store verification of user age on a cell phone, tablet, computer or device manufacturer’s network. Such devices will be pre-installed on restricted websites and will only be filed after the user’s age is verified.
Adult content platform Pornhub has advocated device-based age verification systems for several years, claiming that this will allow for more consistent law enforcement. Pornhub’s parent company, Aylo, has agreed to verify the age of UK users under the new law, although it has not disclosed the information it will collect. Aylo has blocked multiple U.S. states due to its age verification method.
In recent years, governments around the world have paid great attention to online age verification. Australia will introduce an age check for people using search engines when logging into a Google or Microsoft account, and it will take effect from the end of this year. However, despite experts agreeing that children should not obtain material that is not suitable for their age, there are still great concerns about the effectiveness of this age verification method.
