Ofcom Fines Pornography Provider £1.35m for Breaching UK Age Verification Rules Under Online Safety Act

A pornography provider, 8579 LLC, has been fined a record £1.35 million by Ofcom for failing to implement legally required age verification measures under the UK’s Online Safety Act. The penalty marks the largest fine issued so far under the legislation. In addition to the main fine, the company was ordered to pay £50,000 for failing to respond to a formal information request from the regulator. Ofcom has warned that if 8579 LLC does not immediately introduce highly effective age assurance systems, it will face an additional daily fine of £1,000. The company will also incur a separate daily penalty of £250 until it fully complies with requests for information, including providing a comprehensive list of its websites. These daily fines will be capped after 60 days if non-compliance continues.

Since July, all pornography providers serving UK audiences have been legally required to carry out robust age checks to prevent children from accessing explicit content. Simple self-declaration methods, such as tick-box confirmations stating users are over 18, are no longer considered sufficient. Ofcom began monitoring compliance and launched investigations into major sites that failed to meet the new standards.

According to the regulator, 8579 LLC failed to implement effective age verification on at least three major sites up to November 2025, with another site continuing to breach the rules. Two additional sites originally under investigation were reportedly transferred to a separate company registered in the Seychelles before preliminary findings were announced. Ofcom’s enforcement director emphasized that companies ignoring legal obligations should expect significant financial penalties.