This is the regulator’s second fine imposed under the law – which requires pornographic websites to verify users are over 18.<\/p>\n
Its first fine was to online message board 4chan, which it said had not responded to requests for information about measures required to prevent people from accessing illegal content.<\/p>\n
Ofcom had set a deadline of 13 November to pay the \u00a320,000 fine.<\/p>\n
But a lawyer for the US-based company previously told the BBC it had no intention of paying, accusing the regulator of overreach and censorship<\/a>.<\/p>\n If companies do not pay up, the regulator can seek to recover fines through legal action, or apply for court orders to instruct internet providers to limit access to the site.<\/p>\n Since 25 July, sites hosting age-restricted content have to have “highly effective age assurance” methods in place to make sure children cannot access them.<\/p>\n These include age verification tools such as facial age estimation<\/a>, which must be “robust” in deducing whether a user is over 18.<\/p>\n Pornhub, the world’s most visited porn site, told the BBC in October it had seen a 77% decline in UK visitors since it implemented age checks<\/a>.<\/p>\n Ofcom has also opened new investigations into 20 further porn sites – bringing the number of sites and apps it is investigating for suspected Online Safety Act breaches to 76.<\/p>\n