Ofcom fines porn site £800,000 over age verification failings - BBC

The media regulator said the company did not have "highly effective" methods to check UK visitors were over 18. Ofcom said Kick Online Entertainment has since brought in age checks - but was not complying with the law between July and December 2025. Meanwhile, message board 4chan will be fined £520,000 for failing to comply with the UK's Online Safety Law, according to its lawyer - who says the company will not pay. Suzanne Cater, director of enforcement at Ofcom, said it was "non-negotiable" for adult sites to have highly effective age checks in place to prevent children accessing porn.

Key Details

"Any company that fails to meet this duty - or engage with us - can expect to face robust enforcement action, including significant fines," she added. Under the Online Safety Act, the regulator can fine firms up to 10% of their turnover or apply for a court order to block a site in the UK. The regulator said Kick Online Entertainment failed to introduce age checks for the porn sites it runs as required between 25 July and 29 December, resulting in its penalty. It has also fined the company £30,000 for not responding to its information requests and will impose a £200 daily penalty until it responds.

Ofcom first began investigating the company alongside several others on 31 July last year after it found 34 sites had not introduced age checks . It prioritised Kick Online Entertainment because of the number of users it had. The regulator has launched probes into many more porn sites lacking age checks and handed down decisions, including fines , for some. It issued its largest penalty to date on AVS Group Ltd in December over continued non-compliance with the Online Safety Act .

What It Means

Cater said on Thursday Ofcom would continue its investigations into other sites under the UK's age check requirements and "take further action where necessary". Ofcom has given 4chan 10 working days to respond to its provisional notice that the site has broken its rules, including over age checks and a risk assessment of illegal content on the site. The company's lawyer Preston Byrne told BBC News Ofcom is "proposing to impose a £520,000 fine," with added daily penalties if it does not respond. Ofcom has so far not publicly said it will be implementing a £520,000 fine.

4chan has already refused to pay a £20,000 fine it received last year as part of a narrower investigation into its compliance with online regulation. "My client has broken no law in the only jurisdiction that matters here - the United States," Byrne, who is managing partner of law firm Byrne & Storm, told BBC News. He said Ofcom should go to court in the US "to explain how enforcement of Ofcom's orders in our country wouldn't violate the First Amendment". The First Amendment of the US Constitution protects free speech.

An Ofcom spokesperson told BBC News that "in any industry, companies that want to provide a service to people in the UK must comply with UK laws". "The UK's Online Safety Act is concerned wit