LONDON — U.K. communications regulator Ofcom has discontinued an investigation into whether OnlyFans violated the Online Safety Act (OSA) by failing to prevent minors from viewing adult content.
Ofcom originally announced the investigation in May 2024, stating at the time that it was seeking to determine whether OnlyFans was implementing age assurance measures “in such a way as to protect under 18s from restricted material, including pornographic material.”
The investigation also sought to determine whether the platform had provided “complete and accurate” information in response to requests by the agency, as mandated under the OSA.
This week, Ofcom announced that it has decided to close the investigation into whether OnlyFans had implemented sufficient measures to protect children from restricted material, and into whether OnlyFans parent company Fenix International Limited failed to cooperate fully with Ofcom.
“We are making no findings on these issues and should further information come to light, reserve our right to re-open this investigation,” the agency posted on its website.
A spokesperson for OnlyFans told Reuters, “At all times, OnlyFans’ age assurance was set to at least 20 years old. OnlyFans is, and has always been, confident that these measures are sufficient to meet our obligations to protect under 18s from accessing restricted material.”
The Ofcom announcement notes that an investigation into whether Fenix International Limited provided “complete and accurate responses to statutory information requests” is ongoing.
Issuance of guidelines and enforcement actions under the OSA have been slowly ramping up since the law took effect in 2023. In January, Ofcom fined video sharing platform MintStars 7,000 pounds for “failing to adequately protect children from accessing online pornography.” That site required only a declaration by users that they were over 18, which is insufficient as an age assurance measure under Ofcom's rules.
