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Thu, 09 Jul 2026

Thu, 09 Jul 2026 Porn site company fined £630,000 over failed age checks

Ofcom has fined a slew of sites it says are failing to prevent children accessing their adult content.

* Ofcom has fined the operator of porn site Fapello £630,000 for failing to properly check the ages of its users.
* The company was required to implement "highly effective" age assurance measures to ensure UK visitors were 18 or older since July 2025.
* Ofcom opened an investigation into the site in November and found that the operator had not introduced any age checks and failed to respond to requests for information on time.
* The fine is £600,000 for non-compliance with age check requirements, plus an additional £30,000 penalty for failing to provide information on time.
* Ofcom has set out guidelines for websites to verify user ages, including credit card checks, photo ID matching and estimating age using a selfie.
* The regulator will continue to monitor Fapello's compliance, even though the site has since blocked UK visitors.