UK regulator fines porn company $1.8 million for failing to verify user ages

The U.K.’s communications regulator fined the porn company 8579 LLC on Monday £1.35 million ($1.82 million) for not verifying user ages.

Under the U.K.’s Online Safety Act, sites hosting porn must use rigorous age assurance methods to ensure that minors cannot access the content.

The regulator, Ofcom, began requiring companies to verify user ages through “highly effective” measures including photo ID matching and credit card checks in July. Soon after the law took effect, Ofcom began a sweep of popular porn sites, including those owned by 8579 LLC, to check for compliance.

Civil libertarians have expressed alarm about the privacy and cybersecurity risks inherent to the policy and say it violates porn users’ rights.

In addition to the £1.35 million fine for failing to comply with age check requirements, 8579 LLC faces an additional daily penalty of £1,000 ($1,350) for each day that goes by without an effective age check system in place.

Ofcom also alleged that 8579 LLC ignored information requests for which it issued an additional £50,000 ($67,000) fine.

A media contact for the company could not be found.

“We’ve been clear that adult sites must deploy robust age checks to protect children in the UK from seeing porn,” George Lusty, director of enforcement at Ofcom, said in a statement.  “Those that fail to do this — or ignore legally binding requests from us — should expect to face fines.”