Digital Economy Act 2017

14 Internet pornography: requirement to prevent access by persons under 18

(1) A person contravenes this subsection if the person makes pornographic material available on the internet to persons in the United Kingdom on a commercial basis other than in a way that secures that, at any given time, the material is not normally accessible by persons under the age of 18.

(2) The Secretary of State may make regulations specifying, for the purposes of this Part, circumstances in which material is or is not to be regarded as made available on a commercial basis.

(3) The regulations may, among other things, prescribe circumstances in which material made available free of charge is or is not to be regarded as made available on a commercial basis.

(4) Regulations under subsection (2) may provide for circumstances to be treated as existing where it is reasonable to assume that they exist.

(5) Regulations 17 to 20 and 22 of the Electronic Commerce (EC Directive) Regulations 2002 (S.I. 2002/2013) apply in relation to this Part, despite regulation 3(2) of those Regulations.

(6) For the purposes of this Part, making material available on the internet does not include making the content of an on-demand programme service available on the internet in the course of providing such a service.

(7) In subsection (6), “on-demand programme service” has the meaning given by section 368A of the Communications Act 2003.

(8) Regulations under subsection (2) may make different provision for different purposes.

(9) Regulations under subsection (2) are to be made by statutory instrument.

(10) A statutory instrument containing regulations under subsection (2) is subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.

(11) But a statutory instrument containing the first regulations under that subsection may not be made unless a draft of the instrument has been laid before and approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament.