The British regulator will begin an inspection of online porn services in May 2025
Ofcom has announced that it plans to conduct a major review of online pornographic services, including the popular site Pornhub. Starting from July 25, 2025, porn service providers in the UK will be required to implement strict control mechanisms to verify the age of their users. This is reported by Politico citing Ofcom.
An Ofcom representative emphasized that such measures will promote more responsible use of pornography and protect user privacy. The new online safety law requires providers to use effective age verification methods to safeguard minors. These methods include open banking access, control questions, and biometric verification.
Oliver Griffiths, Ofcom's Director of Online Safety:
«Society has long sought to protect children from harmful influences such as alcohol or gambling. However, it has been easy to find harmful content online. The new age checks will help reduce minors' access to pornography while keeping adult services accessible and private,» he noted.
According to the new legislation, porn service providers will also be required to explain their age verification methods in writing to ensure the confidentiality of adult users. A study conducted by Ofcom showed that 8% of children aged 8-14 have used porn services within a month. Boys aged 13-14 were found to be more active in this regard than girls of the same age.
Moreover, the popular porn site Pornhub has published statistics indicating that Ukraine has once again made it into the top 20 countries by traffic volume. This is the second consecutive year that our country has entered this list.
Porn service providers in the UK will need to implement strict age verification mechanisms for users by July 25, 2025, as required by the new legislation regulating access to pornography. These measures aim to protect minors from the harmful effects of explicit content online and to enhance the privacy of adult users. The results of the study conducted by Ofcom showed that children can already access porn sites at a young age, making it essential to take measures to limit their access to such content.