United Kingdom: Office of Communications published enforcement update on age assurance compliance by pornographic content providers under Online Safety Act

On 9 May 2025, the Office of Communications (Ofcom) published an update on its enforcement programme for services that publish or display their own pornographic content (Part 5 services), in relation to Highly Effective Age Assurance (HEAA) obligations under the Online Safety Act 2023. In January, Ofcom contacted providers requesting compliance plans, implementation timelines, and contact details, following the entry into force of HEAA requirements. Around 40 services responded, covering planned HEAA measures across approximately 1'300 sites. These included methods such as facial age estimation, credit card paywalls, and “safe for work” landing pages. Some services choose to geo-block UK users. Most major platforms confirmed plans to implement HEAA and will be monitored for compliance. However, some providers failed to respond or implement age checks and announced investigations to assess potential breaches of Section 81 of the Act. Ofcom may impose fines of up to GBP 18 million or 10% of global revenue and, in serious cases, seek court orders to block or disrupt non-compliant services.