LONDON — U.K. media regulator Ofcom has launched investigations into 20 more adult sites as part of its age assurance enforcement program under the Online Safety Act.
In a statement posted to its website on Thursday, the agency lists five providers that cumulatively operate 20 pornography sites as being under investigation: HQPorner, Porntrex, Fapello, XXBrits and Sun Social Media, which operates playvids.com and peekvids.com.
The statement indicates that the sites have been targeted in part because they appear to have benefited from a wave of users avoiding larger sites that have complied with the OSA’s age assurance mandate.
“We have prioritized action against these companies based on the risk of harm posed by the services they operate,” the statement reads. “We have taken particular account of their user numbers, including where we have seen significant increases in their user traffic since age-check laws came into force last summer.”
Industry and mainstream observers alike have long predicted that AV laws would effectively penalize compliant websites while benefiting noncompliant ones. Those predictions have since been verified by a much-publicized drop in traffic to major sites like Pornhub, and by data indicating that traffic instead tends to shift to sites without age checks.
Suzanne Cater, Director of Enforcement at Ofcom, said: “The use of highly effective age assurance to protect children from harmful pornographic content is non-negotiable, and we will accept no excuses for failure. Any service that fails to meet its age-check duties under the Online Safety Act can expect to face robust enforcement action, including significant fines.”
Ongoing Investigations
In conjunction with the announcement about newly targeted sites, Ofcom posted an update to several ongoing investigations, some of which XBIZ has previously reported on.
- The agency has fined Itai Tech Ltd., which runs the “nudification” site Undress.cc, a total of 55,000 pounds for failure to implement requisite age assurance measures and failure to comply with a statutory information request.
- Ofcom has issued provisional decisions against 8579 LLC and Kick Online Entertainment for similar noncompliance issues. “Both providers now have an opportunity to make representations to us before we make our final decisions,” the statement notes.
- The agency is expanding its investigations into Cyberitic LLC and the provider of xgroovy.com, “to determine whether they have also failed to adequately respond to Ofcom’s formal requests for information.”
- The agency has closed its investigation against Trendio Ltd., concluding that the provider has “taken steps in good faith towards compliance.”
The latest additions bring the number of sites and apps currently under investigation by Ofcom under the Online Safety Act up to 76.