Ofcom Fines Porn Company £1.35m for Lack of Age Checks
Summary
Ofcom has fined pornographic company 8579 LLC £1.35 million for failing to implement effective age verification measures as required by the UK's Online Safety Act. The company also received a £50,000 fine for failing to respond to a legally binding information request. These actions underscore Ofcom's commitment to protecting children online.
What changed
Ofcom, the UK's communications regulator, has imposed a significant fine of £1.35 million on the pornographic company 8579 LLC for its failure to implement effective age assurance measures to prevent children from accessing adult content. This enforcement action, taken under the UK's Online Safety Act, also includes an additional £50,000 penalty for the company's non-compliance with a legally binding information request. The fines highlight Ofcom's stringent approach to enforcing online safety regulations, particularly concerning the protection of minors.
Companies operating adult websites in the UK are now under strict legal obligation to deploy highly effective age verification systems. Failure to comply not only results in substantial financial penalties but also carries the risk of further daily penalties if non-compliance persists. This case serves as a clear warning to the industry that regulatory oversight is active and that non-compliance will be met with decisive enforcement, including significant fines and potential ongoing penalties. Regulated entities must ensure their age verification processes are robust and that they respond promptly and fully to all regulatory information requests.
Source document (simplified)
Ofcom fines porn company £1.35m for not having age checks
Online safety Protecting children Illegal and harmful content News and updates News Published:
23 February 2026 Ofcom has today fined porn company 8579 LLC £1.35m for not having age checks in place, plus £50,000 for failing to respond to an information request.
Under the UK’s Online Safety Act, sites that allow pornographic material must use highly effective age assurance to prevent children from readily accessing that content.
Within days of this duty coming into force in July 2025, Ofcom launched investigations into the providers of dozens of adult sites, including 8579 LLC. These websites were prioritised based on their user numbers.
Following investigation, we have fined 8579 LLC £1.35 million for failing to comply with these age check requirements. The company must immediately implement highly effective age assurance or face a daily penalty of £1,000.
Ignoring legally binding information requests
Gathering accurate information from companies is fundamental to our job of making life safer online for people in the UK. These requests can help us to assess and monitor industry compliance with their safety duties, and firms are required, by law, to respond in an accurate, complete and timely way.
For failing to abide by these requirements, we have also fined 8579 LLC £50,000. We will impose a daily penalty of £250 on the company until it responds, or for 60 days, whichever is sooner.
George Lusty, Director of Enforcement at Ofcom, said: “We’ve been clear that adult sites must deploy robust age checks to protect children in the UK from seeing porn. Those that fail to do this – or ignore legally binding requests from us – should expect to face fines.”
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