Government right to introduce age checks for porn sites

I applaud the Government’s plans to make porn sites check that its users are over 18 (News, Issue 470). It may not work every time - teenagers will always look for ways around it - but at least it makes it difficult for them. Adult magazines are on the top shelf for a reason, after all: so they’re out of reach of most teens. There’s no physical equivalent for the internet, so we just have to come up with new solutions.

If you doubt the size of the problem, just look at the stats. In May 2015, 1.4 million people under 18 visited porn sites. In a perverse sense, that’s down to the success of the internet. It’s just so easy to use. Obviously you’d never get 1.4 million teenagers trying to buy porn mags from newsagents. And you’re not anonymous when you reach for the top shelf, unlike when you browse online