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Telcos could be forced to block porn sites if a stealth government amendment to the draft Digital Economy Bill is waved through by parliamentarians.

The report stage and third reading of the proposed legislation, which seeks to regulate a hunk of areas from Internet infrastructure to intellectual property, will be debated by MPs next Monday (November 28). Age verification for access to online porn also forms part of the government’s shopping list. Brits wanting to access fruity material via websites or apps will be subjected to checks to confirm that they are aged 18 or over.

And the bill already makes it clear that the government wants to go after “infringing sites” by choking their access to payment providers such as Visa and PayPal, and threatening fines of up to £250,000 or five percent of a person’s “qualifying turnover (if any).”