Ofcom Crackdown on Porn Sites Spurs Backlash

Ofcom has launched investigations into four companies—8579 LLC, AVS Group Ltd, Kick Online Entertainment S.A., and Trendio Ltd—operating 34 major pornography websites to ensure compliance with the UK's new Online Safety Act, which requires highly effective age verification to protect minors. These companies were prioritized due to the scale and risk of their platforms, collectively attracting over nine million UK users. Approximately 6,000 adult websites have already implemented the mandated verification measures, but non-compliant sites face possible fines or bans from the UK market. Following the regulations, some platforms like XHamster have seen an 85% drop in UK visits, while there is growing concern over privacy, free speech, and users migrating to the dark web. A petition to repeal the Act has surpassed 400,000 signatures, and some smaller sites have voluntarily shut down to avoid regulatory penalties. Ofcom will analyze evidence from the companies under investigation to determine if further enforcement is warranted.