Porn sites operating in the UK have been told they have until July to introduce "robust" age-checking technology, such as requiring photo ID or credit card checks, or face enforcement action.

The long-awaited guidance, published by regulator Ofcom, was drawn up under the Online Safety Act (OSA) to prevent children from easily accessing pornographic content online.

Research shows that the average age young people in the UK first see explicit content online is 13, with many exposed to it much earlier.

Ofcom boss Melanie Dawes said: “For too long, many online services that allow pornography and other harmful content have ignored the fact that children are accessing their services,” adding: “Today, this is Things are starting to change.”

However, some porn sites and privacy campaigners say introducing enhanced age verification will only push people into "dark corners" of the internet.

The media watchdog estimates that around 14 million people in the UK watch online pornography.

But it is so readily available that campaign groups have raised concerns about children seeing it at an early age - one in 10 children have seen it by the age of nine, according to a survey by the Children's Commissioner.

Ofcom boss Dame Melanie Dawes said: “As age checks start to be rolled out in the coming months, adults will start to notice a difference in the way they access certain online services.”

The rules also require services that publish their own pornographic content, including using generative artificial intelligence tools, to immediately start introducing age checks.

Age verification platform Yoti calls such technology "vital" to creating safe spaces online.

"It is important that age guarantees are enforced on porn sites of all sizes to level the playing field and provide age-appropriate access for adults," said chief regulatory and policy officer Julie Dawson.

However, Aylo, the website's parent company, told the BBC that such age verification was "ineffective, arbitrary and dangerous".

It claims significant changes in pornography use in Louisiana, US After similar age verification controls take effectits website’s traffic in the state dropped by 80%.

"These people have not stopped looking for pornographic content, they have simply migrated to dark corners of the internet that do not require users to verify their age," the statement said.

"In reality, these laws just make the internet more dangerous for adults and children."

Ofcom has published a so-called "non-exhaustive" list of technologies that can be used to verify age, including:

• open banking
• Photo ID matching
• facial age estimation
• Mobile network operator age check
• Credit card check
• digital identity service
• Email-based age estimation

The rules clearly state that "self-declaration of age" is no longer considered a "efficient" method of checking age and is therefore not acceptable.

It also states that pornographic content should not be accessed until the user completes an age check.

Other age verification companies responded positively to the news.

"The regulator's long-awaited age assurance guidance means adult content providers can now have a clear picture of their situation and put in place a robust and reliable approach to ensuring underage users stay away from explicit content," said Lina Ghazal, director of Verifymy's oversight. and public affairs.

But privacy campaign group Big Brother Watch warned that many age-checking methods can be circumvented and should not be seen as a panacea.

"Children must be protected online, but many technical age-checking methods are ineffective and pose additional risks to children and adults, including security breaches, privacy breaches, errors, digital exclusions and censorship," said owner Silkie Carlo.

"We must avoid things like digital identity systems for the internet, which both eliminate online privacy and fail to keep children safe," she added.