People may soon be required to upload their passport details with a selfie to websites if they want to view pornography as part of efforts to help protect children from harmful content online.

The media regulator has said that part of the new Online Safety Code will be telling digital platforms that they must use an effective form of age verification.

Coimisiún na Meán executive chairperson Jeremy Godfrey told the Irish Examiner his office will not be “absolutely prescriptive” on how age verification should work, but a requirement for a person to show their passport and a selfie to verify identity would be the “gold standard”.

The Online Safety Code is out for public consultation until the end of this month. It outlines measures that video-sharing platforms will have to implement to keep users, especially children, safe from harmful content.

Under this code, Ireland’s Coimisiún na Meán will have responsibility for enforcing these measures on all video sharing platforms that have their European headquarters in Ireland.