LONDON — U.K. media regulator Ofcom has launched investigations into whether four companies operating adult websites have implemented requisite age assurance measures under the Online Safety Act, the agency announced Thursday.
Under the OSA, sites that publish pornography must have “highly effective” age checks in place to prevent minors from accessing adult content.
A statement posted on Ofcom’s website reads: “We have opened formal investigations into whether the following providers have highly effective age checks in place to protect children from encountering pornography across 34 websites: 8579 LLC, AVS Group Ltd, Kick Online Entertainment S.A., and Trendio Ltd. These companies have been prioritized based on the risk of harm posed by the services they operate and their user numbers.”
Ofcom is investigating the four companies in relation to the following sites.
- 8579 LLC: 4kporn.xxx, crazyporn.xxx, love4porn.com and hoes.tube.
- AVS Group: pornzog.com, txxx.com, txxx.tube, upornia.com, hdzog.com, hdzog.tube, thegay.com, thegay.tube, ooxxx.com, hotmovs.com, hclips.com, vjav.com, pornl.com, voyeurhit.com, manysex.com, tubepornclassic.com, shemalez.com and shemalez.tube.
- Kick Online Entertainment: motherless.com.
- Trendio: theyarehuge.com, tranny.one, ah-me.com, ashemale.one, bdsm.one, bemyhole.com, gaygo.tv, gayxo.com, shemale.pub, sunporno.com and yesvids.com.
In recent months, XBIZ has reported on other Ofcom investigations into OSA compliance, including one targeting Itai Tech Ltd. and Score Internet Group LLC, and another focused on First Time Videos.
The agency also previously investigated Kick Online Entertainment in relation to issues other than age verification — specifically, alleged failures to conduct a requisite risk assessment and to respond to requests for information.
Ofcom will next gather and analyze evidence “to determine whether any contraventions have occurred,” Thursday’s statement notes. If the agency’s assessment indicates compliance failures, it will issue “provisional notices of contravention” to providers, who can then respond before Ofcom makes a final determination.
The agency’s enforcement powers include imposing fines of up to 18 million pounds or 10% of qualifying worldwide revenue, seeking a court order requiring payment providers or advertisers to withdraw their services from a platform, or even requiring ISPs to block access to a site in the U.K.
