The UK Government says it will drop plans to introduce a controversial “porn block” that would prevent under-18s from viewing adult material online.

The porn block was set to come into effect last year. However, the proposals have been fraught with delays and legal difficulties. In June, the UK Government announced an additional six-month delay after it failed to inform the EU of its plans.

Although the porn block itself has been shelved, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport said it still remains “committed” to protecting underage web users through its Online Harms White Paper.

In a statement, Nicky Morgan, secretary of state for digital, culture, media and sport, said: “The Government has concluded that this objective of coherence will be best achieved through our wider online harms proposals.

“As a consequence [the government] will not be commencing Part 3 of the Digital Economy Act 2017 concerning age verification for online pornography.

“The Digital Economy Act objectives will, therefore, be delivered through our proposed online harms regulatory regime. This course of action will give the regulator discretion on the most effective means for companies to meet their duty of care.”

Under the new rules, web users over the age of 18 would be required to verify their age and identity to view pornographic material online.

Websites would be required to introduce strict verification checks under the plans, and those that failed to do so would risk being blocked by internet service providers in the UK.

Privacy rights groups repeatedly voiced concerns over the proposals, arguing that it put web users in danger of having their browsing habits leaked.

Confusion also arose following the Government’s decision to exempt certain social media platforms from the ban. Initially, websites such as Reddit or Twitter may have been at risk, however, the government granted the exemptions.