Even in Brazil: law requires authentication to view pornography online

Age verification for accessing pornography sites is becoming more common around the world. Some countries, such as the United Kingdom and Australia, and state governments in the United States are developing laws that require users to verify their age before viewing explicit content.

In Brazil, Bill 2390/2015 currently being debated in the House of Representatives proposes a National Internet Access Registry to filter access to adult content platforms. Users will need to provide their name, full address, RG and CPF to register, and sites that do not require registration will be penalized with fines.

Generally speaking, the law aims to prevent children from accessing these sites. However, regulators and privacy advocates warn that age verification poses significant problems in protecting the anonymity of Internet users.

Legislation enacted so far is unclear on the implementation of the technology and whether all companies must perform age verification. The porn industry is not against the measure, but fears that the lack of clarity on the implementation could cause problems for companies and users.

How can I stop children from accessing pornography?

Preventing children from being exposed to pornography on the Internet is a joint effort of families, schools and society. One of the effective measures to block access to pornographic content is to install parental control software that allows you to filter and block sites with adult content.

Any access of children to the Internet via a computer, mobile phone or tablet should be supervised by a responsible person. It is also important to maintain an open dialogue about the dangers of the internet and to establish clear rules about the use of the network, including prohibiting access to inappropriate websites.