Ofcom fines adult site network for inadequate age verification under Online Safety Act

The UK communications regulator Ofcom has fined the pornography network AVS £1 million for failing to implement sufficiently robust age verification procedures on its 18 adult websites. In addition, the company was fined £50,000 for failing to respond to Ofcom’s requests for information. Since July, websites and apps that host adult content have been legally required to use effective age checks to prevent minors from accessing explicit material under the newly enforced Online Safety Act.

Following the introduction of the new regulations, Ofcom began investigating several sites, including those operated by AVS, which attract millions of UK users each month. According to Oliver Griffiths, Ofcom’s online safety director, AVS’s age verification system lacked ‘liveness’ checks—allowing users to bypass the system by holding up photographs instead of showing real-time video proof. Ofcom gave AVS 72 hours to introduce better verification technology or face additional fines of £1,000 per day.

This marks the third enforcement action taken by Ofcom since July, following penalties issued to 4chan and other platforms. New data released by the regulator indicate that nearly half—47%—of children aged 8 to 17 have encountered age checks when trying to access restricted websites, up from 30% before the regulations. Meanwhile, 58% of parents believe these measures have improved online safety for children. Despite progress, the rules remain controversial: critics argue the verification systems are both easy to evade and raise privacy risks, as many require users to upload facial images to third-party services. UK Technology Secretary Liz Kendall reaffirmed that the government fully supports Ofcom in enforcing these safety standards, emphasizing that digital platforms must take greater responsibility for protecting minors online.