Ofcom has fined the operator of pornography site Fapello £630,000 for failing to introduce age checks on its UK visitors — and for ignoring the regulator’s requests for information.
The fine, announced on Thursday, comes almost a year after age checks became mandatory for all adult content sites in the UK. Since July 2025, platforms must use “highly effective” age assurance to ensure users are 18 or older. Fapello, Ofcom said, did not implement any such measures and failed to respond to requests for information on time.
“Ofcom fines porn site operator £630,000 for failing to verify users' ages and ignoring information requests.”
“Age checks are no longer optional for porn sites in the UK,” said George Lusty, director of enforcement at Ofcom. “They are a cornerstone of our laws to protect children from content they should not be seeing.”
The regulator opened an investigation into the site operator in November. On Thursday, it imposed a £600,000 penalty for failing to introduce age verification, and an additional £30,000 for not supplying the requested information on time. “Providers also need to know that if they don’t supply accurate information to us on time, when we request it, they should expect to face enforcement action, including fines,” Lusty added.
Fapello has since blocked UK visitors, but Ofcom said it would continue to monitor compliance.
The fine is one of a series of enforcement actions taken by Ofcom in recent months. In May, it fined porn company YoungTek Solutions £600,000 for the same failure. Prior to that, it levied a £1.35m fine on another adult site operator for failing to introduce age checks.
But questions remain about whether fines alone are enough to secure compliance. In December, it emerged that Ofcom had never heard from a firm handed a £1m fine — though that company later began complying. Meanwhile, the regulator is locked in a dispute with online message board 4chan over its refusal to pay a £520,000 fine. A lawyer for 4chan has repeatedly mocked Ofcom’s threats with AI-generated images of hamsters.
On Thursday, Ofcom also opened a new investigation into another porn provider, Bit Hive, citing concern that one of its age-check methods “may not be highly effective”. The regulator has set out approved ways to verify age, including credit card checks, photo ID matching, and estimating age using a selfie, provided the methods are “technically accurate, robust, reliable and fair”.