U.K. music fans will be required to use age verification services to access certain content on streaming and social media services as a recent law change takes effect.
The U.K. government’s Online Safety Act, which came into effect on Friday (July 25), requires certain websites to seek age verification from their users. The goal is to limit the amount of children viewing adult content such as pornography, or other violent or harmful content that encourages suicide, self-harm and eating disorders. The legislation has been several years in the making and was first passed in 2023.
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The bill requires users of social media and other online platforms such as Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and Google to provide photo identification proving they are over the age of 18 to access certain adult content. Similarly, a select number of users on Spotify in the U.K. (as well as in Australia and the European Union) have been warned that they will be required to provide age verification to access certain content.
On the support section of Spotify’s U.K. website, the streaming giant says that verification is necessary “to help us identify if users are of eligible age to access some Spotify content and features, like music videos that are labeled as 18+ by rightsholders.” All users attempting to access content labeled as “18+” will be prompted to submit a video that estimates facial age or provide government-issued identification such as a passport or a driving license. After the required proof has been verified by digital identity company Yoti, the service will delete all the user data it has in its possession.
“You cannot use Spotify if you don’t meet the minimum age requirements for the market you’re in,” the website adds. “If you cannot confirm you’re old enough to use Spotify, your account will be deactivated and eventually deleted.” Users are required to be at least 13 years old when they sign up for a Spotify account. Families on a joint plan can restrict access to content with explicit lyrics for certain users.
Billboard U.K. has asked other streaming services for guidance on whether their services will be impacted by the changes.
Following the implementation of the legislation, over 430,000 people have signed a petition calling for the rules to be repealed. Virtual Private Networks, commonly known as VPNs, have risen in popularity on the Google Play and Apple stores as users seek ways to avoid using the age verification tools.
