United Kingdom: Closed Ofcom investigation following implementation of age verification measures on SoSpoilt and Xpanded Platforms

On 8 March 2024, the Office of Communications (Ofcom) announced that following inquiries, the platforms SoSpoilt and Xpanded implemented measures for preventing children from accessing pornographic content hosted on their sites. Both platforms, which host livestream services for adult content, now require users to verify their age before accessing adult content. Methods include providing verifiable credit card details, allowing an age estimation tool to determine the user's age, submitting valid identification, or a mobile operator check. Alternatively, users can sign into a registered account where their age has already been verified. Ofcom will continue to monitor the effectiveness of these changes. Considering the steps taken by the platforms to improve their access control and age verification measures, Ofcom will not open a formal investigation into compliance with the obligations under Part 4B of the Communications Act 2003 at this time.