UK fines porn company £1 million for weak age checks


The UK has fined a porn operator called AVS Group £1 million ($1.33 million) for failing to have strong enough age checks, regulator Ofcom announced. The company which was also hit with an additional £50,000 fine for its failure to respond to information request and now has 72 hours to introduce effective age checks or face a further penalty of £1,000 a day.

In July, the UK government announced it would start checking compliance by websites that publish or display pornographic content to implement a system for “highly effective age checks.” Methods approved by Ofcom include credit card checks, photo ID matching and even estimating a user’s age with a provided selfie. However, users have been circumventing the age checks via methods like using a VPN and providing a fake ChatGPT-generated photo ID.

The fine is the third such penalty arising from the UK’s Online Safety Act designed to protect children and adults from harmful content. In October, 4Chan was also hit with a £20,000 ($26,700) fine for failing to comply with the internet and telecommunications regulator’s request for information under the same law.

The UK isn’t the only region to have implemented age checks. Around half of US states now require it, as do France, Italy, Australia and China. Australia took things a step further by banning social media use by children under 16, including sites popular with young people like Twitch and YouTube.

Ofcom’s safety director, Oliver Griffiths, said the crackdown on weak age verification for adult sites would continue. “The tide on online safety is beginning to turn for the better. But we need to see much more from tech companies next year and we’ll use our full powers if they fall short.”



Source link

  • Related Posts

    Free MLB.TV on T-Mobile Offer Returns for Opening Day, but You Have to Act Soon

    Batter up! The 2026 Major League Baseball season starts tomorrow, March 25, with a matchup between the San Francisco Giants and the New York Yankees, and T-Mobile customers (who don’t…

    Google’s Android Automotive is moving from the dashboard to the ‘brain’ of the car

    Google announced a new version of its Android Automotive open-source operating system for software-defined vehicles. Whereas previously Android Automotive operated exclusively in the car’s infotainment system, Google is now expanding…

    Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    You Missed

    Free MLB.TV on T-Mobile Offer Returns for Opening Day, but You Have to Act Soon

    Free MLB.TV on T-Mobile Offer Returns for Opening Day, but You Have to Act Soon

    A Real-Life “Home Alone”? Brenda Song Blasts Alaska Airlines After Kids Separated From Parents

    A Real-Life “Home Alone”? Brenda Song Blasts Alaska Airlines After Kids Separated From Parents

    You Have to See Miley Cyrus’s New Hannah Montana Makeup Look

    You Have to See Miley Cyrus’s New Hannah Montana Makeup Look

    NYC-ABC PP/POW updates March 17, 2025 – Kersplebedeb

    NYC-ABC PP/POW updates March 17, 2025 – Kersplebedeb

    New York plane crash investigation looking at cockpit recorder and controllers

    New York plane crash investigation looking at cockpit recorder and controllers

    Manitoba government to deliver budget, with focus on affordability – Winnipeg

    Manitoba government to deliver budget, with focus on affordability – Winnipeg