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Posted
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msmash
t 29, 2025 @09:41AM
from the new-world-order dept.
An anonymous reader shares a report: Valve has started to comply with the UK's Online Safety Act, by rolling out a requirement for all Brits to verify their age with a credit card to access "mature content" pages and games on Steam. UK users won't even be able to access the community hubs of mature content games unless a valid credit card is stored on a Steam account.
While platforms like Reddit, Bluesky, and Discord have opted for age verification checks using selfies, Valve is restricting its age checks to just credit cards, according to a support article. "Among all age assurance mechanisms reviewed by Valve, this process preserves the maximum degree of user privacy," says Valve. "Having the credit card stored as a payment method acts as an additional deterrent against circumventing age verification by sharing a single Steam user account among multiple persons."
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The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
byAnonymous Coward writes:
You can't play some games on Steam?
bymccalli ( 323026 ) writes:
This is the UK - debit cards are the norm, credit cards are not universal. Most people have one of course, but most - certainly not all particularly at the 18-24 type age range.
byskam240 ( 789197 ) writes:
In the US a debit card usually has an option where they can be run through one of our big credit carriers and they'll have their logo on the card so for instance a debit card might have a Visa logo on it and is able to run through their network. These cards all function as "credit cards" for stuff like this. Is it different in the UK?
bykeltor ( 99721 ) * writes:
So they still have "Credit Card Only" validation and since CC require 18+, it would be a valid option for some US sites.
bynewcastlejon ( 1483695 ) writes:
Is it different in the UK?
Yes. You will never be asked "debit or credit?" here; a card is either a debit card or a credit card. It can have the VISA logo on it either way. What I want to know is whether or not you can tell the difference from just the card number. Using the first four digits you can tell if a card is VISA, Mastercard, Amex or whatever, but I don't know for certain that a VISA credit card has a different prefix to a VISA debit card. I think that the former start 47 and the latter 46 but that could just be my bank. Th
byTargon ( 17348 ) writes:
The first digits are generally linked to the bank offering the card. For this situation, the whole thing comes down to age verification to make sure people are over the age of 18. If a kid has a name "Sean", even borrowing their parents credit card might be enough, link the card to the account, don't USE that card for payment, but if it's on the account, that would probably get through this method to keep kids from adult games.
bynewcastlejon ( 1483695 ) writes:
You may be right. I only have a sample size of four but I have two debits (44 and 46) and two credits (47 and 49). I still think it must be possible to tell debit from credit by the number because otherwise there would be no point. I wouldn't be surprised if you can also determine which country the card was issued in.
As to checking who the card belongs to, when I've seen this done in the past the usual practice was to charge a nominal amount to the card, say £1, then immediately refund it. You n
byaRTeeNLCH ( 6256058 ) writes:
Sorry for being late to the party.... Your post triggered me to figure this out.
All four of your cards are Visa (initial 4; MasterCard is 5, etc.). Other than that, it's impossible to tell from the number, but with a BIN lookup of the first 6 to 8 digits, it can be found out which entity issued the card in which country. I got this from Chat-gpt.... But it went online with an 8 digit (recently invalidated) start of a real card number and correctly determined the issuer, type and level, and country. Try pu
byxpyr ( 743763 ) writes:
You can tell if it's a debit or credit card by submitting the first 4-9 digits: https://stackoverflow.com/ques... [stackoverflow.com]
Yes, it is possible. You need to get a list of BIN (Bank Identification Numbers) which correlate to card type (debit or credit). You then can compare the BIN number, which is the first 4-9 numbers of the card, to that list which will tell you the card type.
Processors like Worldpay and Card Connect make lists like this available. I am unsure if there is a cost or not. I found this free one [bindb.com] but you'll need to massage it a bit to consume it programmatically. This API [binlist.net] also claims to be free.
byregistrations_suck ( 1075251 ) writes:
That's great.
Guess they won't be playing on Steam.
byfahrbot-bot ( 874524 ) writes:
This is the UK - debit cards are the norm, credit cards are not universal. Most people have one of course, but most - certainly not all particularly at the 18-24 type age range.
Pro Tip: Get a credit card, don't be stupid with it, pay it off every month, no need for a debit card. The former card helps your credit score, importantly separates your payment from your bank account, and gives you a 30-day float on your money. The latter card offers nothing of value - to you.
I've never had a debit card and never will. My bank once tried to "upgrade" my ATM card to a ATM/Debit card several years ago and I said no thanks. Branch manager said they don't do ATM-only cards anymore, I
bythegarbz ( 1787294 ) writes:
Then stop being a weirdo and get one
The only thing weird is the American fetish for having them and this continued pursuance of forcing everyone to have devices that are under control of a duopoly.
It's not a case of get one, OP shouldn't need one! There's nothing about any Steam transaction which requires a feature specific to credit cards.
byregistrations_suck ( 1075251 ) writes:
I can tell you one thing I don't have a fetish for: debit cards.
No way would I walk around with one of those things.
byGerardAtJob ( 1245980 ) writes:
I'm sure perverts will be pervert enough to get a credit card lol
bygweihir ( 88907 ) writes:
You need to have your head examined if you think those people are "perverts".
byGerardAtJob ( 1245980 ) writes:
Ok ok not THAT perverted, but still a perverts ;) (Level 1 mages are still called mages and so on - just be honest with yourself ;) )
bygweihir ( 88907 ) writes:
Ok, I understand what you are saying. But personally, what the anti-porn religious fanatics want seems to be massively more perverted to me.
byGerardAtJob ( 1245980 ) writes:
I can feel the wisdom buff in here : really true can't deny.
byNarcocide ( 102829 ) writes:
I'm sure a debit card will work just fine too.
bymccalli ( 323026 ) writes:
Debit cards are available to under 18s - you can have one from the age of 12. Credit cards aren't - that's why they're picking credit cards.
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byZocalo ( 252965 ) writes:
Actually, in the UK it's from age *six* if it's a pre-paid card, age eleven if linked to a bank account as a traditional debit card. I suspect there is some coding built into the number that might let a retailer determine the specific type of card and allow/block its use for ID accordingly, but functionally the pre-paid debit ones support contactless etc. just fine and on most online systems they just come up as "Visa Debit" or "Mastercard Debit", exactly the same as my own "adult" debit card does.
None of which gets around the issue of a kid "borrowing" a parent's credit card for a few minutes so they can record the numbers for later use in online ID verification, which would go completely undetected by the parent if there is no transaction logged. Even then, I expect there are a lot of adults that don't meticulously go through their statements and account for each transaction, especially if they use Steam themselves and might just see some token fee as some random-DLC/in-game purchase they made themselves.
Honestly, just stop passing the fscking buck. This is a *parenting* issue, not one for the government and legislature who haven't a clue how to set or enforce rules that the industry has any realistic hope of implementing with any high degree of success. My 10yo niece, who has had a pre-paid debit card for over 2 years now, was explaining to me the other day how she'd downloaded and installed ProtonVPN (she'd obviously done some homework on selecting Proton too!) on her tablet so she could get around geoblocks to stream some US TV shows that are not available in the UK yet. If kids want to see porn or play smutty games they are going to find a way, even if that's sneakernet, and it's up to the adults to make sure they are prepared and can deal with it properly when they do, not pretend it doesn't exist, the kid is still totally innocent, or it is someone else's (read "government") problem.
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bygrandmofftarkin ( 49366 ) writes:
The BIN (first 6-8 digits) of the carx not only tells you the bank. It tells you if the card is prepaid, debit or credit.
byCassini2 ( 956052 ) writes:
I am old enough to remember news stories where people ordered credit cards for their dogs. The banks ran the credit check for the primary account holder. Additional cards could be ordered in anyone's name: your wife, your kid, your dog. Business credit cards are still this way.
Not sure how much of this still stands, on either side of the Atlantic.
bythegarbz ( 1787294 ) writes:
I'm sure a debit card will work just fine too.
What makes you say that? No they wouldn't since it defeats what Steam is doing. Credit Cards are able to be used as a proxy for proof of age since the issuing bank needs to confirm that a person is over the age of 18 before issuing it. Debit cards on the other hand are issued to anyone over 11 years old.
byConaxConax ( 1886430 ) writes:
I live in the UK, and just tried it with a debit card. It doesn't allow me to access adult games, it still says:
"Under the UK Online Safety Act, Valve is required to verify that you are 18 or older before accessing mature sexual content. If you wish to do so, please add a valid UK credit card to your account and afterwards update the Mature Content Preferences."
I don't have a credit card, so can't try using one. An odd scenario is that my Steam account is from 2008, so will itself will be 18 next year, and
byNarcocide ( 102829 ) writes:
I just figured as long as it was still a Visa or MasterCard the system wouldn't know the difference, but I guess I was wrong.
bygrandmofftarkin ( 49366 ) writes:
Yep. The BIN (first 6-8 digits) of the card not only tells you the bank. It tells you if the card is prepaid, debit or credit.
bygrandmofftarkin ( 49366 ) writes:
It certainly will not. It is trivial to tell the difference between credit and debit cards just from the first handful of digits on the cards. Search for BIN in relation to payment cards to learn more.
byantdude ( 79039 ) writes:
For me with my account since HL2 ep. 1 or something that required it, I never gave Valve my personal information like billing, home, etc. However, they got stricter in buying games with gift cards. They require real addresses for taxes, etc. Frak that. I can still get and play free games though without gift cards.
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byValgrus Thunderaxe ( 8769977 ) writes:
Trump should nationalize Cracker Barrel and deport the CEO.
byrsilvergun ( 571051 ) writes:
that the "feminist" group that started this mess is run by right wing extremists who *successfully* got GTA III taken off the shelves in Australia.
They're coming for your video games. ALL your video games. They want you in church. Tithing.
byKiloByte ( 825081 ) writes:
Tipper Gore, the main driver of this crap in 80s. Janet Reno in 90s. Hillary Clinton in 00s (also got a GTA!). All of them very right wing.
Don't claim it's a right wing issue, it's a bipartisan thing.
byTargon ( 17348 ) writes:
Hillary was a Young Republican and Goldwater Girl(worked on the Goldwater campaign). Hillary has ALWAYS been a conservative at heart.
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byRinnon ( 1474161 ) writes:
Valve does business in the UK and is therefore subject to UK laws for business transactions taking place in the UK. Whether or not you think the UK law is acceptable or not isn't really a factor here (unless you are a UK citizen and can protest and vote in an effort to repeal it- best of luck friend). Valve's approach strikes me as a fairly reasonable solution all things considered. It definitely sucks if you don't have / don't want a credit card, I agree. But what would your preferred method of adhering to this law be? Government issued digital IDs? Photo of DL + selfie? Hopefully your answer isn't to stick your head in the sand and say "don't adhere to the law;" Valve is not an activist company championing any particular ideology and going to bat against whatever government they can. They sell video games and would likely prefer to continue selling video games to as many people as possible in as smooth a manner as possible (clearly, while adhering to any local laws they might be required to).
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byTargon ( 17348 ) writes:
It is expected that businesses will obey the laws of places they are doing business. Now, there are two ways to do this, for them not to sell any adult games at all in the UK, or to follow the laws of the UK when it comes to this stuff. What is the level of paperwork to have people scan or take a picture of the ID of the customer, then upload it to the store(Steam in this case) so an employee can click the box "allowed to buy adult content" do you want? It's far easier for the store to say, "we requir
byAnonymous Coward writes:
describing the desired shitshow as if accepting it is a given, then limiting everyone to post-shit solutions
nah, firewall the clown car and watch the VPN headlines roll in across the island
by0123456 ( 636235 ) writes:
The Merchant Caste will almost always cave rather than lose money. This is why you don't want them running anything important, like your country.
But this seems a reasonable choice on their part given most adults have credit cards or can easily get one and it avoids the need for a more intrusive implementation of age checks.
bythrasher thetic ( 4566717 ) writes:
Too bad. That's the only acceptable answer for those who would not be censored.
Don't adhere to the law.
byDrMrLordX ( 559371 ) writes:
Credit cards are the "old school" online age verification method that porn sites used long ago. It's minimally-invasive. That most bank/debit cards in the UK aren't also credit cards for the purpose of age verification is a problem particular to the UK. Certainly if there's a demand for combined debit/credit cards, the banks will get right on that. Even PayPal offers credit cards.
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byCEC-P ( 10248912 ) writes:
And stocks in Privacy.com virtual credit cards where you can customize the name just went up. I have a feeling they may be able to detect this but you never know.
bygrandmofftarkin ( 49366 ) writes:
Those will not have a credit card BIN and thus be distinguishable as debit cards.
bygrandmofftarkin ( 49366 ) writes:
To add to this, kids can have debit cards, they cannot get credit cards in the UK. Getting a line of credit from abroad would likely be even harder.
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