A kid who went on the internet and clicked I’m 18+ and looked at porn doesn’t have a victim (outside of the perpetrator if one wants to argue that). I don’t know what the laws are in the U.K. but here (U.S.) identity fraud/theft is a federal crime. With a possible sentence up to 15 years.

With how it was, there was no incentive for a kid to take their parents/older friends ID when they weren’t looking, or share ID’s/information with their friends to access those sites. If a person gets notice that their information is being used on a site they weren’t using, the likelyhood of it being reported goes up.

Hopefully nothing would ever go as far as being reported as fraud/theft, but all it takes is one person who doesn’t like their kid hanging out with someone else.

So while they didn’t create any new offenses for kids, they created roadblocks that put kids in a situation that may make them break the law out of sheer curiosity.

Getting caught drinking a beer, or smoking cigarettes would be a godsend compared to getting charges brought up for something so stupid.