Porn sites will use online age verification system AgeID to confirm users' ages.
"When a user first visits a site protected by AgeID, a landing page will appear with a prompt for the user to verify their age before they can access the site," AgeID spokesperson James Clark told Metro.
"Each website will create their own non-pornographic landing page for this purpose," he added.
When UK users first try to access porn sites next month, they will have to create an AgeID account using a credit card, passport or driver's license. Any future attempts to access the sites can be made using a username and password.
"It is a one-time verification, with a simple single sign-on for future access. If a user verifies on one AgeID protected site, they will not need to perform this verification again on any other site carrying AgeID," Clark said.
According to Clark, porn sites will not store any information about their users.
"When a user registers an AgeID account using an email address and password, both are protected by a salted, one-way hash [an encryption method that is nearly impossible to reverse, protecting the user's data]. This means that at no point does AgeID have a database of email addresses," he said.
"AgeID does not know the identity or date of birth of its users; all it knows is whether a hashed account is over 18 or not."
Another way to access the sites without using an email address will be to buy a special ID card or voucher from retail outlets and then enter the site using an app called Portes, according to Clark. Additional details regarding this option were not provided.
The Digital Economy Act, which require visitors to porn websites to verify they're at least 18 years of age before being granted access, was signed by UK Digital Minister Matt Hancock in July 2017, Sputnik previously reported.
At the time, Hancock said that the legislation "will secure better support for consumers, better protection for children on the internet and underpin a radical transformation of government services."
