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ATVOD names and shames porn sites, boss says cam girls could be prosecuted

ATVOD has named and shamed 10 more sites which have failed to adequately protect underage eyes from hardcore pornography. 

The body which co-regulates adult on-demand sites alongside Ofcom has ruled that the sites failed to protect children as in all cases teaser clips showing ‘real sex in explicit detail’ were freely available, with full videos available to purchase with debit cards, which can be used by under 18’s. 

The regulator is currently looking at restricting access to hardcore porn sites to credit card holders only, as a method of controlling access. 

ATVOD finds 10 more porn sites have failed to protect children
The Jessica Pressley site as of September 23 – complete with ‘Enter if only’ message

Read our guide to Parental Internet ControlsAs a result of the action, at least six of the sites have made changes to their layouts and payment methods in such a way that they may avoid being fined by Ofcom. 

Four of the ten sites are apparently the property of a Dutch company and therefore are outside ATVOD’s jurisdiction. The co-regulator is however looking at blocking access to overseas sites unless they ask for credit card sites up front. 

ATVOD Chief Executive Pete Johnson said in a statement: “Our recent enforcement activity has sent a clear message that UK providers of hardcore pornography on demand must take effective steps to ensure that such material is not accessible to under-18’s. Asking visitors to a website to click an ‘I am 18’ button or enter a date of birth or use a debit card is not sufficient – if they are going to offer explicit sex material they must know that their customers are 18, just as they would in the ‘offline’ world.”

While ATVOD has been making efforts to limit availability of explicit content on paid sites, how it intends to protect younger eyes from the types of content available on non-pay porn sites like RedTube and PornHub is another matter. 

Speaking at the Xbiz EU conference in London today, Johnson was apparently asked a question about ‘independent cam-girls,’ who upload their own amateur content. According to the Twitter feed of lawyer Myles Jackson, Johnson said that the “responsibility lies with with the person who has control – ie [the] uploader,” and not the service providers.

While free sites might not find themselves in the firing line, channel owners based in the UK could find themselves liable for prosecution unless they somehow forewarn viewers that what they’re about to watch is strictly for those aged 18 or over. 

ATVOD along with the UK Cards Association, the British Bankers Association, the Payments Council and the government are due to meet next month in order to dicuss how access to adult sites can be better controlled. 

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