Latest news with #ageVerification
Sky News
3 days ago
- Politics
- Sky News
4Chan being investigated by UK officials under new online safety rules
Why you can trust Sky News 4Chan, an online forum notorious for its extreme content, is being investigated by UK officials over its failure to comply with new internet safety rules. Ofcom, the UK's communications regulator, said it had received complaints about potential illegal content on 4Chan, as it announced nine new investigations into sites that may have broken new rules. A porn site and seven file sharing websites are also being investigated. Under the new Online Safety Act, porn sites must develop strict age verification processes for users. Websites where people can see content shared by others, like 4Chan or social media, need to assess the risk of UK users encountering illegal content on their platforms. 4Chan has not submitted any such assessment, according to the regulator. 2:48 The seven file-sharing services have also been reported for the possible sharing of child sexual abuse material. Ofcom is also investigating whether porn site First Time Videos appropriately vets the age of its users. By July, sites hosting age-restricted content must have a "robust" age verification process in place. The rules have faced criticism from campaigners in the past for not going far enough. 1:11 Mariano Janin, whose teenage daughter Mia killed herself after being bullied online, told Sky News in April that the new rules are "too small, too little, too slow". In Australia, officials have taken dramatic action to try and deal with online harms for young people, and from December, under-16s will be banned from social media.
CTV News
27-05-2025
- General
- CTV News
European Union investigates four major porn sites under bloc's digital rules on child protection
LONDON — European Union regulators said Tuesday they're investigating four major porn websites over suspicions that they've breached the bloc's online content rules that include provisions for protecting children from pornographic material. The European Commission, the EU's executive branch, said it has opened formal proceedings against Pornhub, Stripchat, XNXX and XVideos under the 27-nation bloc's Digital Safety Act. The sweeping rulebook, also known as the DSA, requires internet companies and online platforms to do more to protect users under threat of hefty fines worth up to 6% of annual global revenue. The commission said protecting young users online is one of the DSA's priorities and it will now carry out an in-depth investigation into the companies 'as a matter of priority.' The investigation will focus on the risks to protection of minors, including dangers associated with the lack of effective age verification measures. It said the porn sites have failed to put in place 'appropriate and proportionate measures' to a high level safety and security for minors, especially when it comes to age verification tools designed to prevent minors from getting to adult content. The sites also lack 'risk assessment and mitigation measures' of any negative effects, including on users mental and physical well-being, the commission said. Pornhub, XNXX, Stripchat and XVideos were classed as 'very large online platforms' that face the highest level of scrutiny under the DSA. However the commission said it granted Stripchat's request to be removed from the list because it didn't have enough users. The four sites didn't respond immediately to requests for comment. Officials said the EU is also working on its own age-verification app that online platforms can use to verify if a user is over the age of 18, without revealing any other personal information. It will be available by the summer. The investigation comes after the commission held a public consultation on draft online children protection measures that included proposals for age verification and 'age estimation' methods to block young people from inappropriate content. Along with the bloc-wide scrutiny of big sites, smaller porn platforms will also face supervision from individual EU member countries's digital regulators, the Commission said. Kelvin Chan, The Associated Press
Associated Press
27-05-2025
- General
- Associated Press
European Union investigates four major porn sites under bloc's digital rules on child protection
LONDON (AP) — European Union regulators said Tuesday they're investigating four major porn websites over suspicions that they've breached the bloc's online content rules that include provisions for protecting children from pornographic material. The European Commission, the EU's executive branch, said it has opened formal proceedings against Pornhub, Stripchat, XNXX and XVideos under the 27-nation bloc's Digital Safety Act. The sweeping rulebook, also known as the DSA, requires internet companies and online platforms to do more to protect users under threat of hefty fines worth up to 6% of annual global revenue. The commission said protecting young users online is one of the DSA's priorities and it will now carry out an in-depth investigation into the companies 'as a matter of priority.' The investigation will focus on the risks to protection of minors, including dangers associated with the lack of effective age verification measures. It said the porn sites have failed to put in place 'appropriate and proportionate measures' to a high level safety and security for minors, especially when it comes to age verification tools designed to prevent minors from getting to adult content. The sites also lack 'risk assessment and mitigation measures' of any negative effects, including on users mental and physical well-being, the commission said. Pornhub, XNXX, Stripchat and XVideos were classed as 'very large online platforms' that face the highest level of scrutiny under the DSA. However the commission said it granted Stripchat's request to be removed from the list because it didn't have enough users. The four sites didn't respond immediately to requests for comment. Officials said the EU is also working on its own age-verification app that online platforms can use to verify if a user is over the age of 18, with revealing any other personal information. It will be available by the end of the summer. The investigation comes after the commission held a public consultation on draft online children protection measures that included proposals for age verification and 'age estimation' methods to block young people from inappropriate content. Along with the bloc-wide scrutiny of big sites, smaller porn platforms will also face supervision from individual EU member countries's digital regulators, the Commission said.
Wall Street Journal
23-05-2025
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
Tim Cook Called Texas Governor to Stop Online Child-Safety Legislation
Apple AAPL -2.46%decrease; red down pointing triangle stepped up efforts in recent weeks to fight Texas legislation that would require the iPhone-maker to verify ages of device users, even drafting Chief Executive Tim Cook into the fight. The CEO called Texas Gov. Greg Abbott last week to ask for changes to the legislation or, failing that, for a veto, according to people familiar with the call. These people said the conversation was cordial and that it made clear Apple's interest in stopping the bill goes to the top of the company.
