Ofcom fines porn company £1.35 million in age verification crackdown
UK regulator Ofcom has fined the adult company 8579 LLC over £1 million for failing to introduce appropriate age verification measures on its websites.
Ofcom has fined a porn company £1.35 million for failing to introduce proper age verification measures.
The UK media regulator explained that 8579 LLC's sites did not have "highly effective" methods to check that UK visitors were over 18 and prevent children from accessing the content.
The fine, Ofcom's largest punishment under the Online Safety Act so far, comes after the regulator started probing the firm "within days" of age check rules coming into effect last July.
8579 LLC has also been fined a further £50,000 for not responding to Ofcom's requests for information.
According to Ofcom, the company failed to implement highly effective age checks on the majority of its pornographic sites between July 25 and at least November 19 last year.
The regulator has ordered 8579 LLC to implement robust methods to check UK visitors are over the age of 18 on one remaining site by 5pm on Monday (23.02.26) - or face an additional £1,000 daily penalty.
George Lusty, director of enforcement at Ofcom, said it had "been clear" that adult sites are required to deploy robust age checks to protect children in the UK from seeing porn.
He added: "Those that fail to do this - or ignore legally binding requests from us - should expect to face fines."
The regulator has also instructed 8579 LLC to provide Ofcom with a complete list of all sites that it operates, after it failed to respond to the regulator's information requests.
Ofcom has already launched probes into porn sites that lack age checks and fined Kick Online Entertainment SA £800,000 earlier this month after it failed to introduce sufficient age verification measures.
The media regulator explained that the firm did not have "highly effective" methods of checking that UK users were over the age of 18.
Ofcom said that Kick Online Entertainment had since brought in age checks, but was being fined for failing to comply with the law between July and December 2025.
Suzanne Cater, Ofcom's director of enforcement, explained that it was "non-negotiable" for adult sites to have effective age checks in place to prevent children from accessing inappropriate content.
She added: "Any company that fails to meet this duty - or engage with us - can expect to face robust enforcement action, including significant fines."
