Age verification tools on adult websites bypassed in seconds
On Friday, toughened rules came into force that mean companies hosting adult content online must block under-18s using "highly effective age verification".
That could include AI tools that use pictures to estimate someone's age, bank or ID checks.
But hours later, two ethical hackers working with the cyber training group The Hacking Games demonstrated just how simple it is to get around the measures designed to protect young people on the internet.
Using widely available technology, Chris Kubecka and Paula Popovici quickly accessed numerous pornography sites without ever verifying their ages.
3:53
Their devices were running standard software, and the tricks they used were simple.
This, Ms Kubecka said, showed the systems will not be effective at stopping under-18s from accessing explicit content online.
The simplicity of their method was confirmed by multiple viewers, who contacted Sky News to say they had also managed to bypass the systems.
One viewer said it had taken him "less than 30 seconds".
Although Sky News has verified the methods used by Ms Kubecka and Ms Popovici, we won't give details or name any software used.
Some of the explicit websites they checked had not turned on any age verification, despite declaring in June that they would.
In response to our findings, Ofcom said these checks "will help stop young children from stumbling across porn".
The regulator added: "While the new rules have only been in place for a matter of hours, we will be actively assessing compliance to make sure platforms have age checks in place and that they are highly effective.
"Companies that fall short can expect to face enforcement action."
1:36
A spokesperson for the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology told Sky News: "We expect these laws to be robustly implemented by tech companies. If they fail to do so, the regulator is ready to take severe enforcement action, including tough fines."
There is also a risk that age verification could push users towards more dangerous corners of the internet in search of pornography.
By 10am on Friday, data suggested an extra 66,000 internet users in the UK had begun using the dark web.
Ms Kubecka fears this number may only increase.
"That is one of the concerns that I have because I don't want illegal or extreme content being normalised in our teens," she said.
1:22
Google Trends data shows searches for online tools to help people bypass age verification have surged, too.
Ofcom told Sky News it had been clear that sites "must not encourage or direct users to get around age checks".
"People should be aware that children and adults who use [certain software] to bypass age checks will not benefit from the wider protections offered by our online safety rules."
Despite those warnings, in the days running up to the rules being enforced, advertising data shows companies were targeting UK users and promoting tools that could bypass the verification.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
25 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
'I should have hit him harder': Outrage of boxer who stopped Princess Anne's kidnapper after 'dangerous' loner is set free
The boxer whose punches stopped Princess Anne 's kidnapper has told of his outrage after the offender was set free, saying: 'I should have hit him harder.' Ronnie 'The Geezer' Russell, 77, was speaking of his anger over the release from Broadmoor Hospital of 'very dangerous' Ian Ball. The Daily Mail revealed on Saturday that Ball, also 77, had quietly been freed, despite remaining unrepentant for the March 1974 night when he shot four men on The Mall in London, near Buckingham Palace. Happy to kill in his quest to hold Princess Anne, then 23, for a £3milllion ransom from the Queen, the loner had not reckoned with 6ft 2in, 17 stone Mr Russell, driving past. The former boxer was undeterred by Ball's threats to shoot, and punched him three times over a terrifying few minutes, before police arrived mob-handed and bundled the kidnapper to the ground. Now Ball is not only free but staging a bizarre intensifying campaign to have his conviction overturned, publishing a book as well as flying to Barbados and Japan on holiday with saved benefits money. Living in a west London hostel, he claims the kidnap was a 'hoax' despite admitting attempting to murder two policemen and the kidnap plot at the Old Bailey in May 1974. Last night Mr Russell - who five years ago had to sell the bravery medal he was awarded - told the Daily Mail: 'I can't believe Ball's been released, it's ridiculous.' 'I should have hit him a bit harder. Am I worried he might come and find me? Let's go further - give him my address, and I'll go one better this time. 'He's saying now 'None of it ever happened, there was supposed to be no gunpowder in the bullets'? It's absolutely impossible, because it did happen. 'He didn't come out with all that when he was sentenced at the Old Bailey - I was there, watching him plead guilty. He should be recalled to Broadmoor.' Mr Russell was aged 28 and driving a cleaning firm van down The Mall when he saw the bloody chaos erupting around Princess Anne's Royal limousine, broken glass everywhere. Ball had a gun in each hand, and was using them. Thinking, as he later said, 'That's a liberty - he needs sorting', Mr Russell ran over and punched Ball in the head, but it was a glancing blow because the gunman was turning to fire at him, his resulting shot smashing a taxi windscreen. Mr Russell ran to the other side of the limousine. Mr Russell said last night: 'I was lifting Princess Anne out of the car by her forearms, saying 'Now we're going walk away, and he's going to have to go through me to get to you' I was a big lad. 'But Ball came round the car, and her husband Captain Mark Phillips pulled her back in. When I turned, he was stood there with his gun pointed at me (he'd broken a car window with the other one, and it was on the floor), shouting 'Come on Anne, you've got to come'. 'That's when I decided it was going to be me, or him. I had to hit him first, and harder. 'I was quite prepared to sacrifice myself for a member of the Royal Family.' Mr Russell's final pair of massive punches did the trick - 'I think I would have knocked a tree down' - and Ball began 45 years in Rampton then Broadmoor secure mental hospitals. Ball paid thousands to publish his 'autobiographical novel' To Kill a Princess through London-based self-publishing company Publish Nation Limited, owned by David and Gwendolyn Morrison. Mr Russell said: 'When Ball was put away "at Her Majesty's pleasure" we were all sure he'd never be out. I can't see any reason why he's been released, why a publishing company agreed to print his autobiography - or how come he's had benefits to save the money to go to Barbados. 'I'm going to Barbados later this year, but that's because I worked for it. I had to sell my medal. He's been mollycoddled, and it's been too easy for him.' In 1974 Londoner Mr Russell, who since retired to the west country, was invited to Buckingham Palace to be decorated. Royal bodyguard James Beaton, shot three times, was awarded the George Cross, journalist Brian McConnell and Anne's chauffeur Alex Callender, both shot in the chest, the Queen's Gallantry medal - and PC Michael Hills, shot in the stomach, and Mr Russell both got the George Medal. Mr Russell, a youthful acquaintance of the gangster Kray twins, remembered: 'The Queen went 'This medal thanks you as the Queen of England - I want to thank you as Anne's mother.' That was a touching moment.'
Reuters
27 minutes ago
- Reuters
Onsemi posts quarterly revenue drop, sees dull third-quarter profit on market uncertainty
Aug 4 (Reuters) - U.S. automotive chipmaker Onsemi on Monday forecast lackluster profit for the third quarter, after reporting a sharp decline in second-quarter revenue, sending its shares down by more than 10%. Sales growth in battery electric vehicles has slowed due to an uncertain economic environment, brought on by global import duties, and elevated borrowing costs in the U.S. Consumers have hit the breaks on big-ticket spending as tariffs threaten to increase the costs of automobiles by thousands of dollars and drive up inflation. This has been forcing automakers to reassess production plans and withhold financial investments, affecting companies such as Onsemi. The company acknowledged during its earnings call that the EV market remains soft, especially in North America and Europe, with recovery being slower than hoped. However, Onsemi said it sees "signs of stabilization" across its end markets, after a prolonged slump in demand due to excess chip supply. The company is among a select group of suppliers providing silicon carbide chips, which are critical for extending the range of EVs. It added that it has not yet seen a broad-based recovery in automotive and expects only low single-digit growth in the third quarter. An end to the $7,500 federal tax credit for electric cars has also cast a cloud over the EV industry's outlook, with some firms expecting a hit to the market growth, opens new tab. Onsemi expects third-quarter adjusted earnings between 54 cents and 64 cents per share, compared with analysts' average estimate of 59 cents, according to data compiled by LSEG. It forecast revenue of $1.47 billion and $1.57 billion for the third quarter, the midpoint of which is slightly above estimates of $1.50 billion. The company's second-quarter revenue of $1.47 billion beat expectations of $1.45 billion, but fell about 15% from a year ago.
The Independent
27 minutes ago
- The Independent
Hospital worker left UK ‘never to be seen again' after girl died under his watch
A care worker employed under a false name fled the UK after failing to properly watch over a teenage girl at a children's mental health hospital, an inquest has heard. Ruth Szymankiewicz died at John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford on February 14 2022 while she was a patient at Huntercombe Hospital – also known as Taplow Manor – in Berkshire. The 14-year-old suffered from an eating disorder and had been placed under strict one-to-one supervision following a self-harming incident 10 days before her death, a jury inquest held at Buckinghamshire Coroner's Court heard on Monday. But on February 12 2022, the member of staff responsible for watching her – a man then known as Ebo Acheampong – failed to maintain the constant supervision plan, the court was told. It later emerged Mr Acheampong had been using false identity documents and was hired by the hospital under a false name, coroner Ian Wade KC told the court. 'The evidence showed he had been employed through an agency (Platinum), who checked his identity documents, and they even trained him by putting him through a day-and-a-half course,' Mr Wade told jurors. 'It appears that these particular processes were the norm and were sufficient to enable a hospital to employ this person. 'But on February 12, he did not keep Ruth under a constant watch,' Mr Wade added. 'Some time around 8pm in the evening, this man ended his shift without knowing where she was and without making sure that he handed her over to another member of staff to continue the one-to-one care regime. 'He simply left.' Acheampong never returned to work at Huntercombe Hospital, jurors were told. 'It seems that he learned what happened that evening,' Mr Wade said. Thames Valley Police launched an investigation and found Acheampong had gone to Heathrow airport and got on a plane to Ghana 'never to be seen again', the coroner said. 'You will not hear from that man, and he let Ruth down,' Mr Wade told jurors. Ms Szymankiewicz was left unsupervised for a period of 15 minutes during which she was able to asphyxiate herself, the coroner said. A post-mortem examination carried out by the Home Office later determined the preliminary cause of death to be 'hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy' – a type of brain damage due to lack of oxygen. The court further heard Huntercombe Hospital had been inspected twice by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) prior to the incident. 'The CQC had not reported favourably on Huntercombe,' the coroner told the inquest. Active Care Group, which owned Huntercombe at the time of Ruth's death, has since closed the facility.
