UK porn site operator fined £1 million for failing to implement age verification checks
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ndsipa_pomu
5mo ago· 2 min readenNews
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Summary
The article reports that a porn website operator, AVS Group Ltd, has been fined £1 million by UK regulator Ofcom for failing to implement proper age verification measures as required by the Online Safety Act. Despite the age checks being introduced in July, the company has not responded to Ofcom's communications since then. The article notes that while the regulations aim to improve online safety, some critics point out that VPNs can bypass these age verification systems. Pornhub's parent company reported a 77% drop in UK visitors following the implementation of the age checks.
Key quotes
· 4 pulledTougher age checks for porn websites were introduced in July, though some people have pointed out these could be easily avoided with a virtual private network (VPN), which reroutes internet traffic.
In October, Pornhub's parent company told BBC News it had seen a 77% drop in UK visitors since the age checks had come in.
The regulator tells the BBC it has been emailing AVS Group Ltd without reply since July.
The Online Safety Act is being implemented in phases, and is intended to prevent past practices which Ofcom described as online platforms being 'unregulated, unaccountable and often unwilling to prioritise people's safety over profits'.
The regulator tells the BBC it has been emailing AVS Group Ltd without reply since July.
