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The UK’s communications regulator Ofcom has issued its largest ever penalty under the Online Safety Act, fining pornography provider 8579 LLC a total of nearly £1.4m.
The record-breaking enforcement action follows the company’s failure to implement “highly effective” age verification measures across its portfolio of adult websites.
Ofcom launched its investigation into the firm just days after new regulations came into force in July 2025. These rules mandate that all pornography providers with a UK audience must go beyond simple “tick-box” age declarations and employ robust technology to verify that users are over 18.
Despite these requirements, 8579 LLC continued to operate several major sites without adequate protection for months.
Record penalties and ongoing sanctions
The total financial penalty comprises a £1.35m fine for the age check failures and an additional £50,000 for failing to respond to legally binding information requests. The regulator has also said if the company doesn’t implement compliant age checks on its remaining active sites immediately, it will face a recurring daily penalty of £1,000.
Furthermore, a daily fine of £250 has been set until the company provides Ofcom with a comprehensive list of every website it operates. George Lusty, Ofcom’s director of enforcement, stated that the regulator has been “clear that adult sites must deploy robust age checks to protect children in the UK from seeing porn.”
He warned that firms choosing to ignore these duties or the regulator’s requests should expect significant financial consequences.
The investigation into 8579 LLC initially covered five websites, though two were transferred to a business registered in the Seychelles shortly before the regulator reached its preliminary findings. This case is part of a broader crackdown by Ofcom, which previously fined AVS Group Ltd £1m for similar breaches in December.
The enforcement of the Online Safety Act has already caused significant shifts in the UK digital landscape. While some firms have complied by introducing facial estimation or ID credit checks, others, including Pornhub’s parent company Aylo, have chosen to restrict access to their sites in the UK entirely, citing concerns over how the laws are implemented.
Ofcom maintains that these strict measures are essential to ensure children do not encounter harmful adult content online.
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