Video Information
On February 24, 2024, CBC News televised an 8-minute segment analysing the pros and cons of Canada's current attempts to impose age verification on adult websites. This includes a consideration of the dangers of sites such as Pornhub, the privacy risks of age verification and the various methods that might reduce privacy concerns.
On March 15, 2024, KPRC2 Houston televised a report that a major pornography site Pornhub had blocked Texas users from their site after the state brought in online age verification for those accessing pornography.
On November 25, 2016, the British anticensorship organisation Open Rights Group posted a comment by security expert Alec Muffett in which he explained the shortcomings of age verification and that it is a precursor to more extensive censorship.
On July 6, 2023, 13 News Now televised a report showing that many Americans in the state of Virginia were seeking information about IVNs. This was in the ten days following the state's announcement that pornography would require age verification to be accessed online. VPNs are a means of allowing people to get around this new law.
On May 6, 2024, The Daily Aus conducted an interview with Paul Haskell-Dowland, Professor of Cyber Security Practice at Edith Cowan University. The professor explains the reasons behind Australia's trial of online age verification and the difficulties surrounding the process.
On December 6, 2023, GB News televised an interview with PM Miriam Cates in which she explained her support for new British legislation requiring online age verification before pornography sites can be accessed.
On September 21, 2023, WKRN News televised a report announcing that Tennessee was considering the introduction of online age verification for pornography sites. The report presents arguments for and against this proposal.
On July 15, 2022, The Christian Institute posted an address by Dr Julie Maxwell, a paediatrician and youth worker, in which she explained the negative effects on young people of online exposure to pornography.
On April 25, 2024, 7News Australia televised a news report detailing the federal opposition's call for age verification of young people seeking to access social media. The proposal seeks to prohibit access to those below 16.
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Should Australia demand rigorous online age verification?
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On May 8, 2024, The Age published a news report titled, 'This country wants to kick under-13s off social media. Will Australia do the same?' The report refers to the United Kingdom's decision to require age verification for children under 13 attempting to access social media.
The full text can be accessed at  verification-for-social-media-users-20240508-p5h030.html
On May 8, 2024, biometricupdate.com published an opinion piece by Dan Yerushalmi titled 'Redefining online safety: The evolution of age verification laws' The comment explains the need for online age verification and how some of the issues associated with e overcome.
The full text can be accessed at
On May 8, 2024, Ofcom published an article titled 'Tech firms must tame toxic algorithms to protect children online.'
The article sets out more than 40 steps that services must take to keep children safer online. These include sites and apps introducing robust age-checks to prevent children seeing harmful content such as suicide, self-harm and pornography and filtering out or downranking harmful material in recommended content.
Ofcom is the United Kingdom's regulatory body for telecommunications.
The full text can be accessed at
On May 7, 2024, The Guardian Australia published a comment by Peter Lewis titled 'Could Labor use Australia's fears over crime and online safety to power internet regulation?'
The opinion piece examines the set of influences currently operating in Australia that could enable the government to strengthen internet regulation.
The full text can be accessed at
On May 3, 2024, SBS published a news report titled 'An expert warns age verification for porn "doesn't work"'. The report gives the views of Vanessa Teague, a cryptographer from the Australian National University, who argues that adult content providers and web sites will not co-operate, and users will use alternative VPNs.
The full text can be accessed at verification-for-porn-doesnt-work/nt3qltrwi
On May 2, 2024, The Conversation published a background and opinion piece by Paul Haskell-Dowland titled 'Australia will trial "age assurance" tech to bar children from online porn. What is it and will it work?'
The article explains the Australian decision and discusses its likelihood of success.
The full text can be accessed at
On May 2, 2024, Crikey published a comment by Bernard Keane titled 'Age verification won't work, but idiot verification is doing fine in the male violence debate'. The comment argues the system the Australian government intends to trial is ineffective in protecting children, will threaten privacy and civil liberties and drive adult site users toward more extreme material.
The full text can be accessed at verification-labor-pornography-male-violence-against-women/
On May 1, 2024, ABCNews published a report titled 'The federal government has given an online age verification pilot the green light. Here's what we know about it' The report outlines the reasons for the government's decision and how it may try to implement online age verification.
The full text can be accessed at
On May 1, 2024, Innovation Aus.com published a detailed report titled 'Online age verification pilot gets green light'. The article outlines the nature of the intended age verification trial and the background to the decision.
The full text can be accessed at verification-pilot-gets-green-light/
On April 24, 2024, news.com.au published a report titled 'Michelle Rowland says social media age verification checks a "live issue" being worked through as AFP, ASIO weigh in'
The article presents the views of spokespeople for the Australian Federal Police and ASIO that online age verification is necessary, including for social media.
The full text can be accessed at
On April 16, 2024, Scientific American published a background and comment piece tiled 'Online Age Verification Laws Could Do More Harm Than Good'. The piece outlines the threats to privacy and security that online age verification can represent.
The full text can be accessed at verification-laws-privacy/
On April 3, 2024, Xtra* published a comment by Nneka Ewulonu titled 'Why you should worry about age verification laws'
Ewulonu argues that these age verification laws are means of reducing access to queer content online. verification-laws-264335
On March 29, 2024, The Kansas City Star published a comment by Tyler Curtis titled 'States pushing age verification for social media are risking everyone's data security' The article details the data security risks posed by current attempts to age delimit access to social media.
The full text can be accessed at
On February 8, 2024, euronews.com published a comment by Ella Jakubowska and Viktoria Tomova titled 'The sledgehammer approach of age verification tools won't make the internet safer'. The authors argue that the age verification processes being employed are unlikely to be effective in protecting children yet may succeed in limiting the access of young and adult users to valuable information.
The full text can be accessed at
On January 14, 2024, The Conversation published a comment by Azfar Adib titled 'Canada should not fall behind on implementing safety measures for children online'. The comment addresses the need to protect children and suggests the form of online age recognition that Canadians appear to find the least intrusive.
The full text cane be accessed at
On November 21, 2023, Innovation Files published a comment by Daniel Castro titled 'Protecting Children Online Does Not Require ID Checks for Everyone'. Castro suggests methods other than conventional age verification that could be used to limit children's access to the Internet.'
The full text can be accessed at
On October 10, 2023, Fast Company published a comment by Jeff Sakasegawa titled 'Should kids be subjected to age verification?' The opinion piece supports age verification online in part to protect them from sexual predators.
The full text can be accessed at verification
On October 4, 2023, European Digital Rights published a position paper titled 'Online age verification and children's rights'. The position paper argues that measures being taken to protect children from access to harmful material online are likely to infringe their right to access legitimate information.
The full text can be accessed at
On December 6, 2023, Newsweek published a comment by Teresa Huizar titled 'To Keep Kids Safe, the Internet Needs a Bouncer at the Door'. This opinion piece, which focuses on social media rather than pornography sites, stresses that age verification is needed to protect children from abuse and sextorion (sexual exploitation online).
Teresa Huizar is the head of The National Children's Alliance, America's largest network of care centres for child abuse victims.
The full text can be accessed at
On August 29, 2023, eSafety released a report it had submitted to the Australian federal government in March 2023. The report is titled 'Roadmap for Age Verification (and complimentary measures to prevent and mitigate harms to children from online pornography)'
The full text can be accessed at
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