FSC Responds to United Kingdom's Age Verification Guidance

CHATSWORTH, Calif.—The Free Speech Coalition (FSC) has officially responded to the United Kingdom's guidance regarding age verification for pornography websites promulgated by Ofcom, per the statutory requirements of the Online Safety Act. "Free Speech Coalition members agree with the goal of keeping children from material that is age-inappropriate or harmful," argued Alison Boden, executive director of the FSC, in a recent filing made with Ofcom. "However, it is essential that any guidelines not only protect minors but also respect the rights of adults to access content and avoid undue burden on the providers." In the filing, it is the position of FSC that Ofcom's regulations will cause harm to otherwise legitimate and legal adult firms. Boden makes the argument that Ofcom's mission to boost investment and innovation in the country's technology and telecoms space is stymied by introducing guidelines that run counter to this mission. "The real winners, from what we've seen in the United States, are almost certain to be websites that disregard the laws, are unreachable by the authorities, and present the greatest danger to users," Boden asserts in the filing. "That is, pirate and dark [websites] that also have no incentive to police illegal content such as child sexual abuse material (CSAM)." Read the FSC's blog post on its website. The filing made with Ofcom is available here.