LONDON — U.K. media regulator Ofcom on Wednesday launched investigations into two adult sites as part of its age assurance enforcement program under the Online Safety Act (OSA).
In a statement posted to its website, the agency names pimpbunny.com and kemono.cr as being under investigation to determine whether the sites are in compliance with OSA age-check rules.
“Our investigations will examine whether there are reasonable grounds to believe that the providers have failed, or are failing, to comply with these duties under the Online Safety Act,” the statement reads. “We have prioritized action against these providers based on the risk of harm posed by the services they operate.
"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,” the statement adds.
This is not the first time that Ofcom has targeted sites that appear to have benefited from a wave of users avoiding AV-compliant sites. In November, the agency launched investigations into five providers that cumulatively operate 20 sites, noting that in prioritizing action against those companies, it had taken into account “significant increases in their user traffic since age-check laws came into force.”
Industry and mainstream observers alike 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.
Updates on Ongoing Investigations
In addition to the new investigations into pimpbunny.com and kemono.cr, Ofcom also published on Wednesday a provisional decision in its investigation into fapello.com, which it initiated in November. The update states that Ofcom has “reasonable grounds” to believe the site is in breach of its duties under the OSA.
“Fapello now has the opportunity to make representations to Ofcom, which will be carefully considered before we reach a final decision,” the agency stated.
Ofcom also announced an “expansion” to its ongoing investigation into xgroovy, which it began in September, over AV compliance and possible failure to respond to formal requests for information.
French media regulator Arcom has also targeted xgroovy. In February, Arcom sent enforcement notices to the operators of the site over alleged failure to implement age verification as required under France’s Security and Regulation of the Digital Space (SREN) law.