Ofcom Cracks Down on 34 Porn Sites: What This Controversial Law Means for Your Privacy and Access

So, the UK just rolled out the Online Safety Act, and—surprise, surprise—they’ve started poking around 34 porn sites to make sure they’re playing by the new rules. The government’s grand plan? Slap a stern age-check on anyone trying to peek at explicit stuff online, from violence to, well, the stuff that keeps certain internet traffic buzzing. Sounds like a smart move to keep the youngsters out of the deep end—but here’s the kicker—this hasn’t exactly gone down as smoothly as a cuppa on a rainy afternoon. Pornhub’s waving red flags, warning that folks might just jump ship to lesser-regulated hideouts instead. Makes you ask: when’s an internet safety net just a game of digital whack-a-mole? Meanwhile, Ofcom’s cracking down with investigations and the threat of fat fines, waving the stick hard. It’s a high-stakes game where privacy, protection, and frustration collide—who wins, who loses, and who just hits the VPN button first? Buckle up… LEARN MORE

An investigation has been launched into 34 porn websites in the UK after the Online Safety Act was officially enacted last week.

As part of the government’s new legislation, online users trying to access explicit content such as violence and pornography must now go through a strict age-verification process.

While the idea sounds good in principle, as a way of stopping those under the age of 18 seeing inappropriate images or videos, it has been met with some huge backlash, with Pornhub stressing to LADbible that it may simply re-direct users to less regulated sites.

A spokesperson said: “We know that when people choose not to age verify, they do not stop looking for adult content, they migrate to those irresponsible platforms.

“We continue to believe that to make the internet safer for everyone, every phone, tablet or computer should start as a kid-safe device. Only verified adults should unlock access to things like dating apps, gambling, or adult content.

“This is the core premise of device-based age verification, which we believe is the safest and most effective option for protecting children and maintaining user privacy online.”

Popular site PornHub has been hit hard by the new legislation (PornHub)

Although many have simply sought out a new method of accessing the sexual content, which includes a very common loophole, it seems as if the government are doing everything they can to ensure that keep kids safe online, even if a lot of adults are less than happy with the changes.

Ofcom has now confirmed that it has launched an investigation into four different companies, who run 34 sites between them, as they look to properly impose the new age-check requirements, with harsh punishments already in place for those who do not adhere.

It wrote: “We have opened formal investigations into whether the following providers have highly effective age checks in place to protect children from encountering pornography across 34 websites: 8579 LLC, AVS Group Ltd, Kick Online Entertainment S.A. and Trendio Ltd.

Companies could be fined £18 million or 10 percent of worldwide revenue by Ofcom (Jack Taylor/Getty Images)

“These companies have been prioritised based on the risk of harm posed by the services they operate and their user numbers. Collectively, these websites have over 9 million unique monthly UK visitors.

“These new cases add to Ofcom’s 11 investigations already in progress into 4chan, an online suicide forum, seven file-sharing services, First Time Videos LLC and Itai Tech Ltd.

“We expect to make further enforcement announcements in the coming weeks and months.”

It is perhaps no surprise that the bill has been met with anger, especially when Channel 4 have been accused of showing ‘literal porn‘ in the form of their new documentary focusing on the life of the controversial content creator Bonnie Blue.