Seems like the thin edge of a thick wedge. First porn, then what next? Video games? Movies? Netflix?

It seems like another data grab. I’ve not seen the technical specification but presumably porn sites will hold on to a verification token of some sort from the government ID database, which could then be used to correlate your viewing habits (at the porn site end) to your age verification request (and thus ID, at the government end).

I imagine this will drive more and more people to use VPNs. I’ve got to assume someone involved in this has considered that. Maybe this is a prelude to banning VPNs in the UK? (“They’re only used by criminals and people trying to circumvent the age verification system”)?