PETITIONClosedPetition · petition.parliament.uk
Protect Privacy: Stop Mandatory Age Verification on Adult Websites
We urge the UK Government to abandon mandatory age verification for adult websites. We believe it will not stop underage access but may push users toward unsafe, unregulated sites. Instead, the government should focus on parental controls, digital literacy, and enforcement against illegal content.
Last fetched 03 May 2026 · petition.parliament.uk
Signatures
1,985
signatures
Government response threshold (10,000) · 1,985/10,000
Debate threshold (100,000) · 1,985/100,000
Background
We believe mandatory age verification could threaten privacy, increase surveillance, and create risks of data breaches. It could disproportionately affect vulnerable groups, including LGBTQ+ individuals and adults without ID. Minors could bypass restrictions using VPNs, while others may turn to unregulated, darker websites, potentially with harmful content, scams, and malware. Instead of forcing ID checks, the government should focus on education and tackling illegal material directly.