The United Kingdom’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has fined an adult content website £1.83 million for failing to operate adequate age verification controls to protect children from accessing its services. The penalty follows an assessment of the site’s compliance with legal requirements for restricting access to adult material.
The ICO said the operator did not put in place effective systems to check that visitors were adults before allowing them to view age-restricted material. Under UK law, providers of adult online content are required to verify that users are aged 18 or older before granting access. The regulator found that the methods used by the company were insufficient to reliably confirm users’ ages.
When assessing the case, the ICO considered the number of individuals who could have accessed the site without verification and the seriousness of the breach of age restriction obligations. The regulator said that the lack of robust age checks created a risk that children could view inappropriate content and exposed the operator to enforcement action.
The £1.83 million fine was issued after the ICO concluded that the operator had failed to meet its statutory duties under the UK’s age verification regime. The penalty amount reflects factors including the duration of the non-compliance and the potential impact on children. The ICO did not identify the adult website by name in its public notice but confirmed that enforcement action was taken following its investigation.
The regulator emphasised that operators of adult content services must implement age verification technologies that provide a high degree of confidence that users are genuinely aged 18 or older. According to the ICO’s guidance, acceptable methods include independent age checks carried out before access is granted, rather than simple self-declaration by users.
In announcing the fine, the ICO said it expects online service providers to comply with age restriction requirements and to design systems that protect children from accessing harmful material. The enforcement action forms part of the authority’s broader work on digital safety, including compliance with data protection and online harm laws.
Operators of age-restricted services now face clear regulatory expectations that age verification must be robust and effective. Failure to implement adequate controls can lead to significant financial penalties and other enforcement measures under UK law. The ICO said it will continue to monitor compliance in the sector and take action where necessary to uphold legal standards designed to safeguard children online.