The UK Decides to Sell Tickets to the Sewer

The parliamentarians had a pretty good idea this was not a situation where they could rely on the honor system to prevent underage viewing. Instead there is now a vague “age verification system” that according to the Daily Mail will entail “registering credit card details.” The verification system will be required of any free or paid porn site that is viewable in the UK.

There are teeth in the system, too, explains John Carr, a member of the Executive Board of the UK Council on Child Internet Safety, “Ultimately the [governing authority] has a legal power to require ISPs and other access providers to block non-compliant sites. It is not thought this blocking power will be used very often because the sites are likely to comply. If they don’t their revenues will be hit.”

So far so good, but I’m not sure the regulators fully thought out the qualms many porn consumers might have with turning over credit card information to an industry known for, how shall we put it, sleaze.

That’s where the sewer tickets, or “porn passes” as the Mail terms it, come into the picture. Porn viewers can buy a 16-digit code from newsstands and shops — after proving their age — and then use the code online. To avoid the Scarlet P that buying a porn pass would normally impose on the customer, the codes may “also be used to purchase other age restricted products such as alcohol and knives.”

There appears to be quite a market for the passes, since 56 percent of the adult population admits to watching pornography “occasionally.” One could think of the passes as the equivalent of a dirty raincoat for the cyber set. Here’s hoping there are digital safeguards built into the porn passes, otherwise the codes are likely to be shared like HBO passwords in a college dorm.

Personally, I think age verification is an excellent idea. To those who reflexively shout "CENSORSHIP!" anytime a limit is placed on media consumption, my answer is this is no more censorship than an age limit on the purchase of alcohol is prohibition.

A recent survey showed “1.4 million children clicked on pornographic websites in a single month — half aged six to 14,” which is a public scandal. That’s why I’m hopeful the program is successful and that some form can be adopted here in the U.S.

Michael Reagan, the eldest son of President Reagan, is a Newsmax TV analyst. A syndicated columnist and author, he chairs The Reagan Legacy Foundation. Michael is an in-demand speaker with Premiere speaker’s bureau. Read more reports from Michael Reagan — Go Here Now.

Michael R. Shannon is a commentator, researcher for the League of American Voters, and an award-winning political and advertising consultant with nationwide and international experience. He is author of "Conservative Christian’s Guidebook for Living in Secular Times (Now with added humor!)." Read more of Michael Shannon's reports — Go Here Now.