Spain introduces porn passport to stop children from watching porn – POLITICO

The Spanish government has a plan to stop children from watching porn online: meet the porn passport.

Officially (and bluntly) called Digital Wallet Beta (Cartera Digital Beta), the application unveiled Monday by Madrid would allow Internet platforms to verify whether a potential viewer of pornography is over 18 years old. Viewers will be invited to use the application to verify their age. Once verified, they will receive 30 “porn credits” generated with a validity of one month giving them access to adult content. Fans will be able to request additional credits.

Although the tool has been criticised for its complexity, the government says the credit-based model is more privacy-friendly, ensuring that users’ online activities cannot be easily traced.

The system will be available by the end of the summer. It will be voluntary, as online platforms will be able to rely on other age verification methods to weed out inappropriate viewers. It prefigures a European law that will come into force in October 2027 and that will require websites to prevent minors from accessing pornography.

Eventually, Madrid’s porn passport will likely be replaced by the EU’s digital identity system (eIDAS2) — a wallet app that allows people to access an assortment of public and private services across the bloc.

“We are acting upstream and we are asking the platforms to do the same, because the stakes demand it,” José Luis Escrivá, Spain’s digital secretary, told Spanish newspaper El País.