Ofcom has fined the subscription platform OnlyFans just over £1m for failing to provide accurate information about its age checks.
In June 2022 and 2023, Ofcom asked OnlyFans’ parent company, Fenix International, for information on its age checking procedures, including the effectiveness of its facial estimation technology.
OnlyFans enables celebrities, influencers and content creators to make money from their work, and is a popular platform among sex workers who use it to sell explicit content.
Ofcom launched a dual investigation into OnlyFans last May over concerns it was not doing enough to stop children accessing pornography, and that it had failed to provide complete and accurate information. The regulator subsequently decided to pursue the second strand, after it did not make any findings on age limits.
Ofcom determined that OnlyFans had failed to provide accurate information in response to requests by the regulator, which allow it to monitor if video-sharing platforms are protecting children. The errors stemmed from a claim by Fenix that it had set a “challenge age” for its facial age estimation technology at 23 years old.
The technology requires a prospective user to upload a live selfie, which it then uses to estimate their age. If the tool estimates the prospective user’s age as being above the challenge age, they can create an account on the OnlyFans platform. Any user not estimated to be above the challenge age is required to verify that they are over 18 using another method.
In January 2024, Fenix learned from its technology provider that since 2021 the challenge age for OnlyFans had been set at 20 years old, not 23. After learning this, Fenix raised the challenge age to 23, but then quickly changed it again to 21 on 19 January.
Ofcom requires robust checks to be in place to ensure information is properly interrogated and reviewed before it is submitted to a formal information request.
The Ofcom investigation established that it took Fenix more than 16 months to discover it had provided inaccurate information, suggesting it did not have “robust factchecking processes”, despite being a large and lucrative company, Ofcom determined.
As a result of these failings, Ofcom has imposed a financial penalty on Fenix of £1.05m, which will be passed on to the Treasury.
Suzanne Cater, Ofcom’s enforcement director, said: “When we use our statutory powers to request information from platforms, they are required, by law, to ensure it is complete, accurate and delivered to us on time.
“Receiving accurate and complete information is fundamental for Ofcom to do its job as a regulator and to understand and monitor how platforms are operating. We will hold platforms to high standards and will not hesitate to take enforcement action where we find failings.”
A spokesperson for OnlyFans said: “OnlyFans recognises the importance of providing Ofcom with accurate and timely information. We welcome the conclusion of this process and Ofcom’s previous decision to close their investigation into our age assurance measures.”
