The Conservatives have announced yet another plan to impose draconian restrictions on internet usage, by forcing adults to prove their age before being able to access pornography websites online. Critics have blasted the move as “ill-thought through and prone to major error”.

Under the proposals, websites providing explicit content could be blocked by their internet providers for failing to comply, with millions of adults being forced to enter their credit card details and face humiliating verification procedures in order to access content that is completely legal.

The Conservatives also have repeatedly said that they want to make encryption illegal in the UK, which brings the security of these verification procedures into question, which would then involve the entering of credit card information over unsecure, unencrypted connections.

The Open Rights Group has further warned that such verification plans would force porn companies to create databases of what everyone has watched and who has been verified, leading to concerns over privacy.

“Age verification could lead to porn companies building databases of the UK’s porn habits, which could be vulnerable to Ashley Madison style hacks,” Mr Killock said.