A UK media watchdog has fined a pornography company a record £1 million for failing to implement effective age verification on its websites.
LONDON: Britain’s media watchdog has imposed a record £1 million fine on a pornography company for failing to implement robust age verification checks.
Ofcom confirmed the penalty against the AVS Group on Thursday, the largest yet under the UK’s Online Safety Act which came into force in July.
The new rules require sites hosting pornography to carry out strict age verification or face significant fines.
They also aim to protect children from accessing harmful content related to suicide, self-harm and eating disorders.
“While AVS has implemented what it refers to as age verification, we do not consider it to be highly effective, and have fined the company £1,000,000,” Ofcom said.
The watchdog ordered the group to implement an appropriate age-check system within 72 hours or face further daily fines.
AVS was also fined an additional £50,000 for failing to respond to an Ofcom information request.
Since July 25, platforms hosting potentially harmful content have been required to use strict verification tools like facial imagery or credit card checks.
Companies found in breach can face fines of up to £18 million or 10% of their global revenue, whichever is greater.
In the most serious cases, Ofcom can take legal action to block access to non-compliant sites from the UK.
The regime has been hailed by campaigners as a milestone but criticised by some as an assault on free speech.
Its rollout reportedly prompted a spike in downloads of virtual private network (VPN) software to bypass restrictions.
Ofcom launched investigations into 34 porn websites, including AVS’s, over possible compliance failures soon after the rules began.
Those probes remain ongoing, the watchdog confirmed.
