Online pornography

Our plans for putting online safety laws into practice, and what we expect from tech firms.

Children in the UK will gain increased protection from online pornography next month, Ofcom has announced, as major providers agree to bring in robust methods to check users’ age for the first time.

As of 25 July 2025, all sites and apps that allow pornography will need to have strong age checks in place, to make sure children can’t access that or other harmful content.

We are investigating whether First Time Videos LLC has failed/is failing to comply with its duties under the Online Safety Act 2023 to protect children from encountering pornographic content through the use of highly effective age assurance.

This is the second edition of Ofcom’s online safety industry bulletin and the first since two major parts of the Online Safety Act became legal obligations, the new rules on illegal content and on protecting children online.

The Online Safety Act makes businesses responsible for keeping people, especially children, safe online. Here’s what you need to know and do now.

This letter has been sent out to hundreds of services whose principal purpose is to host pornography. It sets out what those services need to do in more detail, provides contact information if services have questions, and explains the consequences of non-compliance.

If you allow pornography on your online service, this page is for you. It explains what you need to know about the Online Safety Act and what you need to check to ensure you follow the rules.

The Online Safety Act makes companies that operate a wide range of online services legally responsible for keeping people, especially children, safe online. If you provide an online service, there are actions you must take when duties come into force. This page explains the important milestones.

Investigation into whether Fenix, provider of OnlyFans, failed to provide complete and accurate responses to statutory information requests. The investigation concerned OnlyFans’ compliance with its statutory obligations under sections 368Y(3)(b) and (c), 368Z10(6), and 368Z1(2) of the Act.