UK: Porn viewers could all be added to a country-wide database of viewing habits
The UK government’s plans to check whether people are old enough to watch pornography might include creating a database of everyone’s viewing habits.
The Government has recently been looking to introduce new checks to ensure that adult content can only be viewed by those over 18. To do that, it will introduce age verification schemes, and sites that don’t implement them will be rendered inaccessible from within the UK.
But the mechanism involved in doing so could create an entire database of the UK’s porn viewing habits, according to the Open Rights Group. Doing so will create a vulnerable set of information that could expose anyone, according to the group.
Those that are likely to be in charge of the process say that privacy should be at its heart. But the way that the systems are set up might not allow people to keep their data secure.
That is largely because data protection law usually requires that people give up their data willingly and with their express consent, usually by signing up to terms and conditions. But in this case, people’s data – their porn viewing habits and their age – would be being taken without asking, meaning that it would be difficult to keep that sensitive information secure.
One particular way of checking appears to rely on a business standard that was written for making sure people can’t buy knives when they’re under age. But that also requires that each person within the system is given a unique identifier – which would essentially become a personal ID number for people’s viewing habits.
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/porn-internet-age-verification-viewing-habits-database-uk-government-a7372481.html
This is like "1984." Big Brother going to keep a database of what you do on the internet. That's what this going to lead to.
Domestic spying in the name of protecting the children.
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