ATVOD Urges Processing Ban for Sites That Don't Verify Age

LONDON — ATVOD, the U.K.'s communications czar for on-demand entertainment, has formally asked the government to widen its grip on online adult websites with a proposal to ban the processing of charges for sites that fail to check customer ages.

ATVOD, in a plan sent last week to Maria Miller, the secretary of U.K.'s Department of Culture, Media and Sport, urged the government to target banks and payment processors that "facilitate the provision to U.K. consumers" of porn without age verification.

The proposal is far-reaching because it even aims at overseas online adult companies, which would be penalized for failing to take adequate measures to ensure their U.K. customers are adults.

Under the proposal, payment processors would receive a blacklist of all companies making pornography available without proper age verification. That verification under U.K. laws requires credit and debit cards or other definitive identifying information.

With the proposal, processors would be responsible for ensuring that no British customer could make a payment to any of those black-listed companies.

Some companies escape penalties over noncompliance over age verification by moving overseas while continuing to make the same extreme content available to anyone in Britain, ATVOD spokesman Peter Johnson told the Daily Mail.

"Banks will deploy lots of arguments as to why they shouldn’t be the gatekeepers for this," Johnson said. "But following the money and making it difficult for these sites to earn it would be a powerful step towards reducing children’s exposure to hardcore pornography."

Johnson noted that those companies that target Britons are still potentially in breach of U.K.'s Obscene Publications Act.

ATVOD in the past year has clamped down on companies that don't put in place filtering for underage surfers.

One tool the agency has employed is Rule 11, which requires that U.K.-based video-on-demand operators ensure that those under 18 cannot access hardcore porn.

ATVOD disclosed in October that 23 U.K. porn sites were investigated over Rule 11 violations in the past year. Thirteen of the 23 sites were found to be in violation of Rule 11 and fined.

That total doesn't include the latest probe over Playboy TV, which was fined this month £100,000 for age-verification breaches on its websites.     

Related:  

Copyright © 2025 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

NATS Launches Integrated Content Management System

Too Much Media (TMM) has rolled out an integrated, no-charge Content Management System (CMS) to its NATS platform.

AEBN Reveals Avery Lust as Top Trans Star for Q3 of 2025

AEBN has published its top trans stars list for the third quarter of 2025, with Avery Lust landing atop the leaderboard.

FSC: California's Device-Based AV Law Does Not Apply to Adult

The Free Speech Coalition (FSC) put out an advisory today explaining that California's new device-based age verification law does not apply to adult websites.

Reena Sky Launches New Paysite

Reena Sky has launched her new official paysite, ILoveReenaSky.com.

NextGen Payment Joins ASACP as Corporate Sponsor

NextGen Payment has signed on as the latest corporate sponsor for the Association of Sites Advocating Child Protection (ASACP).

Lauren Phillips, Derek Kage Cap AEBN's Top Stars for 3rd Quarter of 2025

AEBN has revealed its most popular performers in straight and gay theaters for the third quarter of 2025.

XBIZ 2026 Conference to Debut All-New Company Lounges, Community Track

The event website for XBIZ 2026 is now live, unveiling details for North America’s largest adult industry conference, including two all-new show features: Company Lounges and a Community Track.

Mymember.site Integrates VR Functionality

Mymember.site has added virtual reality playback capability to its website management platform.

Texas Patti to Launch Fetish Platform 'EmpireDom'

Performer and content creator Texas Patti is launching a new platform for doms and fetish creators, EmpireDom.com.

Ohio AG Threatens Action Against 'Major' Adult Sites Over AV Law

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced today that his office is sending "notice of violation" letters to 19 adult websites for failure to comply with the state's recently enacted age verification law.

Show More