Ofcom has fined the operator of a pornography web site £630,000 for failing to correctly verify the ages of its customers.
Websites permitting grownup content material, together with porn, have had to make use of “extremely efficient” age assurance to verify UK guests are 18 or older since July 2025.
However Ofcom, which enforces these necessities, mentioned the corporate behind porn web site Fapello had not launched any checks and didn’t reply to requests for info on time.
“Age checks are now not non-obligatory for porn websites within the UK,” mentioned George Lusty, director of enforcement at Ofcom.
“They’re a cornerstone of our legal guidelines to guard youngsters from content material they shouldn’t be seeing.”
The regulator opened an investigation into the porn web site operator in November.
On Thursday, Ofcom mentioned it had fined the corporate £600,000 for not introducing strategies to verify the age of customers.
After it didn’t reply to its requests for info on time, Ofcom handed down an extra £30,000 penalty.
“Suppliers additionally have to know that if they do not provide correct info to us on time, after we request it, they need to anticipate to face enforcement motion, together with fines,” added Lusty.
Whereas the location has since blocked UK guests, the regulator says it should proceed to watch its compliance.
