Technology consultant Maximus Ametorgoh has criticised proposals to require Ghanaians to verify their age using national identification cards before accessing pornographic websites, arguing that an outright ban on such platforms would be a more effective and practical solution.
Speaking on Joy FM’s Midday News, Mr Ametorgoh said protecting children from harmful online content is a legitimate objective, but warned that requiring users to submit national ID details to adult websites raises significant technological, regulatory and privacy concerns.
“The whole idea of protecting children is sensible and absolutely the right thing to do,” he said.
“For me, if I want to protect my child, I will block the website entirely.”
‘Too Complex to Implement’
Mr Ametorgoh described the proposed age-verification system as technologically demanding and difficult to implement within Ghana’s current digital infrastructure.
According to him, any platform seeking to verify a user’s age through a national ID would need systems capable of collecting personal data, validating the authenticity of the identification document and confirming the user’s age through secure verification channels.
“If I go on a site that requires an ID card to verify my age, there are two things. It has to collect that data, make sure the ID I am presenting is authentic, and then authenticate it through a system that can verify the information submitted to confirm my age,” he explained.
“That is a lot of technology which we do not have and cannot implement easily.”
He argued that the proposal places too much emphasis on identity verification when simpler alternatives could achieve the same objective.
“For adult content websites, for me, this is overkill,” he said.
Privacy and Data Protection Concerns
Mr Ametorgoh also raised concerns about the privacy implications of requiring Ghanaians to submit personal identification documents to websites, many of which operate outside the country’s jurisdiction.
According to him, questions remain about who would regulate the collection, storage and use of such sensitive personal data.
“Submitting an ID card is like saying all those adult websites should collect the IDs of Ghanaians, and that borders on privacy,” he said.
“If I submit my ID card to a website hosted outside Ghana, who controls that data? Are they going to register every adult content website as data controllers?”
He warned that the proposal could unintentionally expose citizens to identity theft and data misuse, particularly if malicious actors create websites designed to harvest identification information.
“If I wanted to build an ID repository, I would simply create an adult website knowing that Ghana is asking people to submit ID cards,” he said.
“I would collect the ID information and use it for purposes other than granting access to the website.”
He added that enforcing compliance and monitoring how thousands of websites handle users’ personal information would be extremely difficult.
“Controlling that is going to be difficult,” he stated.
Calls for Direct Restrictions Instead
Mr Ametorgoh maintained that if government considers such content harmful to minors, it should focus on restricting access to the websites rather than relying on age-verification measures.
“Either Ghana is blocking it, or we are preventing people from visiting that website,” he said.
Using an analogy to illustrate his position, he argued that leaving adult content readily available online while depending on verification systems undermines the objective of protecting children.
“You cannot say you do not want your child to smoke and then leave a cigarette in the kitchen and expect the child not to smoke,” he remarked.
Debate Over Proposed Policy
His comments follow recent remarks by Communications, Digital Technology and Innovations Minister, Samuel Nartey George, who disclosed that government is considering mandatory national ID verification before users can access pornographic websites.
The Minister made the announcement during the Fourth Inter-Parliamentary Conference on Family, Sovereignty and Values, describing the proposal as part of broader efforts to protect children from exposure to explicit online content.
The proposal has received support from some child rights advocates and child protection organisations, who argue that stronger safeguards are needed to prevent minors from accessing harmful material online.
However, critics continue to raise concerns about privacy, enforcement challenges and the practical implications of implementing such a system.
