An adult content company fined £1m by Ofcom for failing to meet age-verification requirements has begun introducing more robust checks on some of its websites, the regulator said, as scrutiny intensifies over the enforcement of the UK’s Online Safety Act.
Ofcom’s Findings and Ongoing Investigation
On 4 December, Ofcom announced a £1m fine against AVS Group Ltd for not having adequate age-assurance systems across its adult content platforms. The regulator said the company has since implemented an “age assurance method on certain websites” that it considers potentially “highly effective at correctly determining whether or not a user is a child.” Ofcom added that AVS could still incur additional fines of £1,000 per day until it is satisfied with improvements across all of the company’s platforms.
The regulator also issued a separate £50,000 penalty to AVS for failing to respond to its emails since the investigation began in July. When asked whether AVS had contacted the regulator following the fine, Ofcom said it could not comment on an ongoing investigation.
Company Questions and Regulatory Requirements
BBC News contacted TubeCorporate, the adult content publishing platform associated with AVS Group Ltd, for comment after the fine was announced but has not received a response. The address used by the firm is located in Belize and appears to serve as the registered address for many companies, though it does not house physical offices.
Under the Online Safety Act, websites hosting explicit material must deploy “highly effective age assurance” to prevent children from gaining access. Tougher checks were introduced in July, prompting debate about the reliability of enforcement and the ease with which some users can bypass restrictions.
Rise in VPN Use Following Age Restrictions
One method commonly cited for circumventing location-based checks is the use of virtual private networks (VPNs). A recent Ofcom report on UK media habits found that VPN usage more than doubled after the new requirements took effect, rising from about 650,000 daily users before July to more than 1.4 million in mid-August. Usage declined to around 900,000 by November but remained significantly higher than earlier in the year.
Featured image credits: PxHere
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