UK media regulator investigates Pornhub over age checks

UK Media Regulator Ofcom Probes Pornhub's Age Verification Compliance

Ofcom's Investigation into Pornhub's Age Verification Measures

Background of the Investigation

LONDON, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Britain's media regulator Ofcom said on Wednesday it had opened an investigation into whether adult content platform Pornhub has complied with its legal duties to prevent children from seeing pornography.

Under Britain's Online Safety Act, platforms are required to put in place age checks to prevent under-18s accessing pornographic content.

Pornhub's Age Verification Approach

Aylo, the service provider of Pornhub, said in May that Pornhub would rely on iPhone maker Apple's age-verification process to verify that users are over 18.

Concerns Raised by Ofcom

Ofcom said it was "concerned that Aylo may not have conducted sufficient due diligence and testing before implementing its new age assurance process".

"Our investigation will not make a determination on how Apple operates its age checks," Ofcom said in a statement.

Aylo's Response to the Investigation

Alex Kekesi, Aylo's vice president brand and community, said in a statement that Aylo would fully cooperate with Ofcom and that the investigation would show Apple's "device-level age-verification update ... offers one of the strongest and hardest to circumvent protections currently available".

Potential Consequences and Previous Actions

Ofcom has the power to fine a business up to £18 million ($23.93 million) or 10% of its qualifying worldwide revenue, or block non-compliant sites. It has already levied fines on adult content platforms totalling more than £1 million over age check failures.

($1 = 0.7521 pounds)

(Reporting by Sam TobinEditing by William Schomberg and William James)