The UK Government banned children under 16 from the Internet, even YouTube. The government confirmed adults can still get online despite the new restrictions for youth, but they will have to verify who they are and their age when asked.
Under the UK’s Online Safety Act, adults are increasingly required to use identification or robust age-verification methods to access specific parts of the internet, such as social media platforms or age-restricted content.
Internet platforms face heavy fines for failing to keep minors safe, so adults are often prompted to verify their age. You can generally verify your age using:
- Photo ID (such as a passport or driver’s license)
- Facial age estimation (taking a quick selfie to estimate age)
- Credit card checks
Additionally, the UK government is developing a secure national Digital ID system to streamline access across both public services and private online platforms, allowing you to store credentials safely on your phone.
The secure national ID will likely shut down free speech if what they have done so far hasn’t. Brits need to get Starlink or another way to find out what is happening in their own country. Don’t be shocked if the UK ends up with a social credit system.
You can learn more about how Ofcom regulates these online age-checking methods by visiting the Ofcom Age Checks Guide.
Basically, anything they think is harmful, provokes, or incites hate or violence will be stopped and kept from going viral. If they make a decision you disagree with, they will just say it’s harmful to children.
They would never have let the near-beheading of a man in Belfast go viral if they had known.
