Ofcom fines porn company £1 million for not having robust age checks

Ofcom has fined AVS Group Ltd – which runs 18 adult websites – £1 million for not having robust age checks in place, plus £50,000 for failing to respond to information requests.

Under the UK’s Online Safety Act, sites that host pornographic material must use highly effective age assurance to prevent children from readily accessing that content.

Within days of this duty coming into force in July, Ofcom launched investigations into the providers of dozens of adult sites, including AVS Group Ltd. With millions of monthly UK visitors, these websites were prioritised based on their user numbers and the risk of harm they posed. 

While AVS has implemented what it refers to as age verification, Ofcom do not consider it to be highly effective, and have fined the company £1,000,000. AVS must now implement highly effective age assurance within 72 hours of today’s decision, or face a daily penalty of £1,000 per day.

Ofcom continue to investigate other services’ compliance with age check requirements and will take action where necessary. 

They have also fined AVS £50,000 for failing to respond to a legally binding information request. Ofcom will impose a daily penalty on the company of £300 per day, starting from 5th December, until it responds or for 60 days, whichever is sooner.

For more than two decades, online platforms have been unregulated, unaccountable and often unwilling to prioritise people’s safety over profits. Illegal content duties under the Act came into force in March, and children’s safety duties came into force in July.