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UK Hits Porn Giant with Record \u00a31 Million Fine for Weak Age Checks on 18 Sites<\/strong><\/p>\n London, December 5, 2025 (BNN Web Staff) \u2013 <\/strong><\/p>\n Britain\u2019s media regulator Ofcom has issued its largest-ever penalty under the new Online Safety Act, fining the AVS Group \u00a31 million ($1.3 million) for failing to implement \u201chighly effective\u201d age verification across its 18 adult websites.<\/p>\n The landmark fine \u2014 the first seven-figure sanction since the law took effect in July 2025 \u2014 also includes an extra \u00a350,000 penalty for the company\u2019s failure to respond properly to Ofcom\u2019s information requests.<\/p>\n Ofcom stated bluntly:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cWhile AVS has implemented what it refers to as age verification, we do not consider it to be highly effective.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The regulator has given the company a strict 72-hour deadline to introduce robust age checks or face escalating daily fines. In extreme cases, Ofcom can seek court orders to block the sites entirely from the UK.<\/p>\n What the Law Requires<\/strong><\/p>\n Since 25 July 2025, any website publishing pornography (or content promoting suicide, self-harm, or eating disorders) in the UK must use strict age-verification methods, such as:<\/p>\n Sites that fail to comply risk fines of up to \u00a318 million or 10% of global annual revenue \u2014 whichever is higher.<\/p>\n Wider Crackdown Underway<\/strong><\/p>\n Ofcom confirmed it is currently investigating 34 adult websites for similar breaches. Thursday\u2019s action against AVS is seen as a clear warning shot to the entire industry.<\/p>\n Mixed Reactions<\/strong><\/p>\n The Online Safety Act is now in full force \u2014 and Ofcom has shown it is ready to use its teeth. More multimillion-pound fines and site blocks are widely expected in the coming months.<\/p>\n \n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" UK Hits Porn Giant with Record \u00a31 Million Fine for Weak Age Checks on 18 Sites London, December 5,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3084,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"colormag_page_container_layout":"default_layout","colormag_page_sidebar_layout":"default_layout","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1557],"tags":[3047,1844,2269,2002,2130,2271,1852,1853,2272,2544,1331,1827,1828,2517,3048,3049,1595],"class_list":["post-3083","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-others","tag-3047","tag-anti-immigrant-sentiment-uk","tag-billionaires-leaving-uk","tag-bnn-uk","tag-bnn-web-uk","tag-capital-gains-tax-uk","tag-ethnic-minority-discomfort-uk","tag-ethnic-minority-views-uk","tag-inheritance-tax-uk","tag-jeffrey-epstein-fallout-uk","tag-london","tag-london-first-rank","tag-london-top-city","tag-mbda-uk-laser-contract","tag-porn","tag-uk-hits-porn-giant-with-record-1-million-fine-for-weak-age-checks-on-18-sites","tag-uk-news"],"magazineBlocksPostFeaturedMedia":{"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false,"colormag-highlighted-post":false,"colormag-featured-post-medium":false,"colormag-featured-post-small":false,"colormag-featured-image":false,"colormag-default-news":false,"colormag-featured-image-large":false},"magazineBlocksPostAuthor":{"name":"admin","avatar":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/18e12f979c7dbcc2096868fc531de295a11443c392b4bb6e60ce343131707eaa?s=96&d=mm&r=g"},"magazineBlocksPostCommentsNumber":false,"magazineBlocksPostExcerpt":" UK Hits Porn Giant with Record \u00a31 Million Fine for Weak Age Checks on 18 Sites London, December 5,","magazineBlocksPostCategories":["Others"],"magazineBlocksPostViewCount":1,"magazineBlocksPostReadTime":2,"magazine_blocks_featured_image_url":{"full":false,"medium":false,"thumbnail":false},"magazine_blocks_author":{"display_name":"admin","author_link":"https:\/\/mediapbn.com\/?author=3"},"magazine_blocks_comment":0,"magazine_blocks_author_image":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/18e12f979c7dbcc2096868fc531de295a11443c392b4bb6e60ce343131707eaa?s=96&d=mm&r=g","magazine_blocks_category":"Others<\/a>","videoUrl":"","yoast_head":"\n\n
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