UK Online Safety Act: Ofcom Fines Adult Sites, Investigates 76 More
Ofcom has issued ~£3M in fines against adult platforms for failing to implement age verification. 76 sites are under investigation, but only £55K has actually been collected from offshore operators.
Enforcement Has Started
The UK's Online Safety Act 2023 gave Ofcom powers to regulate online services for illegal content, child safety, and adult content access. Age assurance duties came into effect on July 25, 2025.
Ofcom has now issued its first enforcement actions — and the results reveal both the regulator's intent and its limitations.
Fines Issued
| Entity | Fine | Reason | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Itai Tech Ltd (nudification site) | £50,000 + £5,000 | Failing to use age checks; failure to respond to statutory information request | November 2025 |
| AVS Group Ltd (18 adult websites) | £1,000,000 + £50,000 | Not having robust age checks; failure to respond to information requests | December 2025 |
| Kick Online Entertainment | £800,000 | Lack of age restrictions | 2025 |
| Unnamed file-sharing service | £20,000 | Failing to respond to information requests | 2025 |
Total fines issued: ~£3 million across approximately six penalties.
AVS Group was also ordered to implement age assurance within 72 hours or face a £1,000/day penalty.
The Collection Problem
Of the £3 million in fines issued, only £55,000 has actually been paid as of early 2026. Many offshore sites have "brazenly ignored" the penalties.
This is Ofcom's central challenge: enforcement against operators with no UK presence and no UK assets.
76 Sites Under Investigation
Ofcom launched investigations into an additional 20 pornography sites in early 2026, bringing the total number of sites under investigation to 76.
Ofcom CEO Melanie Dawes stated that large platforms popular with children will be an enforcement focus and that "major investigations and potentially significant fines" are expected in 2026.
What "Highly Effective" Age Assurance Means
Ofcom's guidance defines compliant age assurance as meeting:
- Accuracy: Less than 1% false positive rate for minors
- Coverage: Applied to all UK users before any content is accessible
- Privacy: Minimal data collection, no browsing history retention
Potential Penalties
Non-compliance can result in:
- Fines up to 10% of global annual revenue
- Business disruption measures
- Senior management liability
- ISP blocking orders as a last resort
The ISP blocking power is the real threat. Unlike fines that offshore operators can ignore, ISP blocking removes access for UK users entirely.
What UK-Facing Platforms Should Do
- Determine if you're in scope. If you serve UK users and host pornographic content, you likely are.
- Implement age assurance before Ofcom contacts you. Being under investigation is worse than proactive compliance.
- Choose an approved method. Facial age estimation (Yoti is explicitly Ofcom-approved), document verification, credit card checks, and digital identity wallets are all accepted.
- Appoint a UK compliance contact. Failure to respond to Ofcom information requests carries its own penalties.