Dennis Miracles Aboagye, spokesperson for NPP flagbearer Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has raised concerns about proposals to use national ID cards to verify the age of people before they can access pornographic websites.
His comments come after the Minister for Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations, Samuel Nartey George, proposed mandatory ID verification as part of efforts to prevent children from accessing adult content online.
The proposed policy is aimed at improving child online safety by ensuring that minors are unable to visit pornographic websites.
Speaking in an interview on June 6, Miracles Aboagye said he supports measures designed to protect children on the internet.
However, he is uncomfortable with the idea of creating or using databases that may contain sensitive personal information for age verification purposes.
According to him, there are safer alternatives that can achieve the same goal without relying heavily on personal identification data.
He suggested that one-time passwords (OTPs) could be a better option because they provide an extra layer of security and help prevent the misuse of someone’s personal information.
“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.
Miracles Aboagye maintained that while protecting children online is important, any system introduced should also safeguard the privacy and personal data of citizens.
