The Online Purchasing of Goods and Services (Age Verification)
Bill will receive its second reading in the House of Commons on
Monday. The second reading is the stage before it enters the
Committee system for detailed discussion and amendment.
The Bill proposes making it a requirement "for the providers of
goods and services and the providers of specified facilities
enabling the purchase of such goods and services to take reasonable
steps, in certain circumstances, to establish the age of customers
making such purchases".
The proposed law refers to goods which it is already illegal to
sell to people under the specified ages, such as 18 for cigarettes
and alcohol.
The peer who introduced the Bill in the House of Lords, Baroness
Massey of Darwen, said at a reading of it that "it would require
every retailer who sells age-restricted goods and services over the
internet to establish a system that would allow them to determine
whether or not a person buying such goods or services met the legal
minimum age".
It had previously been introduced in the House of Commons but
ran out of Parliamentary time.
"The law on the sale of age-restricted goods is clear. What are
missing are mechanisms for ensuring that the law is being
observed," said Baroness Massey.
"Before the internet, the purchase of goods was relatively
simple. If there was a question over the age of someone wishing to
gamble or buy alcohol, tobacco, solvents, knives, guns and so on,
this could be checked by means of identification, and the sale
could, one hoped, be refused. Now, these goods and services are
available online, as are pornography and drugs. Children can bypass
regulations by using a computer," she said. "Self-regulation is not
working. Very few online retailers have procedures in place to
prevent underage young people buying almost anything over the
internet."
"The law is being got round in the online provision of goods and
services to underage people. The Bill would cut out this loophole,
protect children and provide reassurance to concerned parents," she
said.
Some peers in the Lords raised objections to the Bill, though.
The Earl of Erroll said that concerns over payments technology and
over the scope of the Bill should cause concern.
"We must allow young people to buy things online. Many things
are only obtainable that way nowadays - certainly the better
bargains," he said. "We must not outlaw methods of payment that
will completely stop them buying anything."
The Earl of Erroll also warned that the Bill was in fact not
just about age-restricted goods but gave Government the power to
bar access to other materials.
"The second major problem refers to unconstrained powers. Clause
1(2) provides that the Secretary of State can make regulations that
could extend to things that are not covered by legal ages or goods
and services covered under current laws. The legal duty to comply
with these laws already exists, and I do not think that Parliament
should micromanage people in how they do these things. We should
not be passing laws just to send a message. That is not a good
idea."
"One of the challenges is enforcement," he said. "It has taken a
long time to fund a police central e-crime unit, for instance. It
would be better to fund people who can do something about the
problem rather than passing more laws and regulations and making
great statements."
The online retail industry is sceptical about the proposal. One
industry figure told OUT-LAW.COM that the industry had concerns
about legislating against activities that were already against the
law, and that measures put in place could hinder the online retail
industry.
Editor's note, 15/10/2009: The original
version of this story suggested that cigarettes could lawfully be
sold to 16 year-olds. The minimum age limit was raised from 16 to
18 in 2007. We apologise for the error.
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