Three regulators from Ofcom participated in an international adult industry conference in Prague, engaging with approximately 1,700 attendees to discuss compliance with the UK’s new Online Safety Act. This legislation, effective from July, is designed to limit children’s access to pornography through mandatory age verification measures. During a presentation, regulators urged pornography site operators to be transparent about their compliance efforts and to openly assess their risk levels regarding age verification failures.
Delegates expressed concerns about the financial burdens of implementing age verification, potential fines for non-compliance, and whether they could bypass the requirements by blocking UK traffic. Questions were also raised regarding competition and the possibility of malicious reporting by rival site operators.
Ofcom officials stated that they aim to support the adult industry in navigating these regulatory changes. They reported that many top adult sites have begun implementing age verification measures or have restricted access for UK users. Additionally, downloads of age verification tools surged following the legislation’s rollout.
Despite these efforts, some industry representatives expressed skepticism about the effectiveness of the regulations. There has been a noted increase in VPN downloads, raising questions about compliance and user behavior. Officials acknowledged that achieving full compliance is challenging given the consistency of non-compliance among some users.
Ofcom has initiated 12 investigations into various adult services for non-compliance since the introduction of the Act. Although no fines have been issued yet, penalties could reach up to £18 million or 10% of global revenue for severe infractions. Industry representatives recognized Ofcom’s proactive outreach at conferences as a positive step, contrasting it with regulatory approaches in other countries.
As companies confront not only age verification but also the moderation of AI-generated content, questions remain about the challenges of distinguishing between compliant and non-compliant material produced by AI systems.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/sep/21/were-here-to-help-how-ofcom-is-urging-porn-sites-to-follow-the-online-safety-act