- Italy announces age verification system for adult sites
- The measure comes into force on November 12
- VPN searches on Google are increasing
Italy has joined the UK, France and several US states in introducing age controls for adult content online. On Friday, the country’s communications authority, AGCOM, announced that the rules will come into force on November 12.
How Italy’s age verification system works
According to the European Platform of Regulatory Authorities (EPRA), the Italian system “ensures a high level of security and protects personal data” thanks to a “double anonymity” feature.
This feature means that the verification process is split in half: a certified third party verifies someone’s identity and generates a secure token which is then presented on the adult website. Importantly, the third party does not know what content is accessed and the website does not learn anything about the individual.
If successful, the system would represent a definite improvement over others introduced recently. However, consolidating people’s information into a third-party system (even if it’s separate from the target website) still creates a high-value target.
What’s more, because the process must be repeated every time someone wants to access the website, the potential for data insecurity increases.
What sites are affected?
When the system goes into effect, it will affect about 50 websites that AGCOM has already listed. However, this is likely to increase and soon spread beyond adult websites; As EPRA indicates, the “scope of age verification may be expanded in the future to include other services not suitable for minors.”
As has been the case in the UK, expanding the scope of age verification measures may draw severe criticism and it appears that some people are already looking for ways to circumvent the restrictions.
What do people think?
Despite assurances of privacy and security, it appears that some people in Italy are already planning ways to bypass the controls.
According to Google Search Trends, interest in VPNs has increased significantly in the past week and searches for “November 12”, the date the new restrictions will take effect, have seen a 140% increase.
The concern, as is often the case with age verification systems, is that people will turn to unsafe VPN apps and other shady platforms in the hope of keeping their data safe, putting it at risk.
So, if you’re really worried about your data, it’s always worth doing a little research and using a well-known brand like NordVPN or Proton VPN.
