I support child protection but not ID database for porn — Miracles

Dennis Miracles Aboagye, Spokesperson for NPP Flagbearer Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has expressed reservations about proposals to use national identification cards for age verification before granting access to pornographic websites.

His comments follow a proposal by the Minister for Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations, Samuel Nartey George, on mandatory ID verification as part of efforts to restrict children’s access to adult content online.

The proposed measure is intended to strengthen child online protection by preventing minors from accessing pornographic sites.

Speaking on Channel One TV’s The Big Issue on Saturday, June 6, Miracles said while he supports measures aimed at protecting children, he is uncomfortable with the creation or use of databases that could contain sensitive personal information for such purposes.

According to him, alternative verification methods such as one-time passwords (OTPs) would be more appropriate because they offer an additional layer of security without requiring extensive use of personal identification data.

“I am for the protection of the children but maybe we should find a different way and not the IDs. With the OTP, I agree. Once there is an OTP, it means that even if you take my ID, you can’t use it because it must come to me. Fair enough, but that database, I am against it,” he stated.