34 porn websites facing scrutiny over new age-check rules

The UK's net watchdog has launched an probe into however 4 companies - that collectively tally 34 pornography sites - are complying with caller age-check requirements.

Last week, caller rules came into unit requiring sites that let big contented to bring successful measures to beryllium that idiosyncratic utilizing them is implicit the property of 18.

But Ofcom has present opened ceremonial investigations into whether immoderate providers person enactment effectual property checks successful place.

These companies - 8579 LLC, AVS Group Ltd, Kick Online Entertainment S.A. and Trendio Ltd - tally dozens of sites, and collectively person much than 9 cardinal unsocial monthly UK visitors, Ofcom said.

Read more: What is the Online Safety Bill?

The regulator said it prioritised the companies based connected the hazard of harm posed by the services they operated and their idiosyncratic numbers.

It adds to the 11 investigations already successful progress into 4chan, arsenic good arsenic an unnamed online termination forum, 7 file-sharing services, and 2 big websites.

Ofcom said it expects to marque further enforcement announcements successful the coming months.

Read more:
Children 'blackmailed into stripping for strangers'
Man urged pistillate to 'kill herself' connected video call

The regulator tin enforce fines of up to £18 million, oregon 10% of worldwide gross (whichever is greater) if sites are recovered to person compliance failures.

"Where appropriate, successful the astir superior cases, we tin question a tribunal bid for concern disruption measures, specified arsenic requiring outgo providers oregon advertisers to retreat their services from a platform, oregon requiring net work providers to artifact entree to a tract successful the UK," Ofcom said.

Five days since Ofcom's caller net regulations began being enforced, much than 450,000 radical person signed a petition asking for them to beryllium repealed.

Adult contented creators, meanwhile, person accused the authorities of censoring societal media feeds.

In effect to the petition, the authorities said it had "no plans to repeal the Online Safety Act".