The operator of a pornography site has been fined £630,000 by Ofcom for failing to introduce any age checks and not responding to the regulator’s requests for information on time.
Since July 2025, sites that allow adult content have been required to use “highly effective” age assurance to ensure UK visitors are 18 or older. But the company behind Fapello, a porn site, had not put any checks in place, Ofcom said.
“Ofcom fines porn site operator Fapello £630,000 for failing to implement age checks 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 fined the company £600,000 for failing to verify users’ ages, and an additional £30,000 for not supplying accurate 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.
While the site has since blocked UK visitors, Ofcom said it will continue to monitor its compliance.
The fine is one of many handed down by Ofcom in recent months. In May, the regulator fined porn company YoungTek Solutions £600,000 for failing to install age checks. Earlier, it levied a £1.35m fine on another adult site operator for the same reason.
But Ofcom has faced ongoing scrutiny over the effectiveness of its enforcement. In December, it emerged the regulator had never heard from a firm it had handed a £1m fine – raising questions about whether monetary penalties were sufficient to secure compliance. That company later began complying with the rules.
Meanwhile, Ofcom remains in dispute with online message board 4chan, which has refused to pay a £520,000 fine. A lawyer for the firm has repeatedly mocked the regulator’s threats of further enforcement action by sending AI-generated cartoon images of hamsters.
Ofcom has set out a number of ways websites can verify age, including credit card checks, photo ID matching, and estimating age using a selfie. Whatever method is chosen, it must be “technically accurate, robust, reliable and fair”, the regulator says.
On Thursday, Ofcom announced it had opened a new investigation into another porn provider, Bit Hive, citing concern that one of its age check methods “may not be highly effective”.