Porn company fined £1m over inadequate age checks

Porn company fined £1m over inadequate age checks

1 hour ago Share Save Tom Singleton Technology reporter Share Save

Getty Images

Ofcom has fined a porn company £1m for failing to put in place sufficiently robust age checks - the biggest penalty it has imposed so far under the Online Safety Act. The Act makes it a legal requirement for websites that host pornographic material to put in place what the regulator determines to be "highly effective age assurance" to prevent children from being able to easily access explicit content. Ofcom said AVS Group Ltd, which runs 18 adult websites, had failed to do this, so was being fined £1m, plus £50,000 for failing to respond to information requests. AVS must now implement highly effective age assurance within 72 hours or face a daily additional penalty of £1,000 a day.

Ofcom said the fine showed the "tide on online safety" was beginning to turn. "This year has seen important changes for people, with new measures across many sites and apps now better protecting children from harmful content," said Oliver Griffiths, Ofcom's online safety group director. "But we need to see much more from tech companies next year and we'll use our full powers if they fall short," he added.