WATCHING free porn in Britain is about to get a lot trickier thanks to new rules that aim to protect children from online smut.
As early as next month, porn sites will be required to get proof of ID from UK residents before showing any X-rated clips.
That includes free porn sites like PornHub and YouPorn – which attract nearly 2billion visits a month between them worldwide.
They'll join a number of other sites in using the AgeID system, which requires users to verify their age via an official form of ID such as a driver's license or passport.
From April, when the new system is expected to launch, randy internet lurkers will be shown a non-pornographic "landing page", according to AgeID spokesman James Clark.
"When a user first visits a site protected by AgeID, a landing page will appear with a prompt for the user to verify their age before they can access the site," he told The Sun.
"Each website will create their own non-pornographic landing page for this purpose."
When someone first clicks on a site, they'll be asked to register with AgeID and verify their age using a Mobile SMS, credit card, passport, or driving licence.
Users will then be able to use their AgeID username or password to access all porn sites that use AgeID – though some may use different age verification systems.
Clark said: "It is a one-time verification. Once a user has age verified once, on ANY site protected by AgeID, they will then simply pass-through or login to any other site using AgeID without needing to re-verify."
The new rules were approved as part of the Digital Economy Act 2017.
They aim to make it harder for under-18s to get hold of adult material.
As well as registering with AgeID, Brits will also be able to access porn sites using a voucher you can buy from high street shops.
Thousands of shops will offer the special ID cards, which users can link to an app known as Portes.
Through Portes, they can then login to sites without having to hand over their email address.
Clark said: "The PortesCard will be available to purchase from any of the UK’s 29,000 PayPoint outlets as a voucher.
"It will also be available from selected high street retailers, which we can share more details on soon.
A unique validation code on the purchased card must be activated via the Portes app within 24 hours, otherwise it'll expire, he added.
Verified users will then automatically be granted access to all sites using AgeID.
Each PortesCard will cost £4.99 for use on a single device, or £8.99 for use across multiple devices.
The new rules are expected to come into effect on April 1, though an exact date has not yet been set.
It's already been pushed back several times before: The scheme was supposed to come in in April 2018 and was then delayed until the end of the year, before it was postponed once again to April 2019.
Sites face fines of up to £250,000 or a blanket block by UK internet service providers if they do not comply with the rules.
Regulators will be also able to block porn websites if they fail to show that they are denying access to under-18s.
However, there are some reservations from experts.
Dr Victoria Nash of the Oxford Internet Institute says "it may make it harder for children to stumble across pornography, especially in the younger age range, but it will do nothing to stop determined teenagers."
Experts have also raised concerns that people's privacy will be threatened by the new system.
Dr Joss Wright, also from the Oxford Internet Institute, says: "There's privacy issues – you're requiring people to effectively announce the fact they are looking at this material to the credit card authorities.
"And there's serious security issues from requiring people to enter their credit card details into untrusted sites."