"We expect tech firms to ensure age checks are highly effective"
Ofcom has launched an investigation into Pornhub owner Aylo over concerns about whether its new age verification system is effectively stopping children from accessing pornography.
In May 2026, the regulator said Pornhub had introduced an age verification process for some UK users that relies on a third party, in this case Apple.
Ofcom said it was concerned that Aylo “may not have conducted sufficient due diligence and testing” before introducing the process.
As a result, the regulator believes it “may not be highly effective” at preventing children from accessing pornographic content.
Under the UK’s Online Safety Act (OSA), pornography sites must use highly effective age assurance to establish whether users are aged 18 or over.
Ofcom’s investigation will examine how Aylo implements its age verification processes and whether it carried out the “necessary due diligence” before introducing them.
The regulator said it will not investigate how Apple operates its own age checks.
George Lusty, Ofcom’s Director of Enforcement, said: “Online age checks are a vital protection to prevent children from encountering inappropriate or harmful material, including pornography.
“We expect tech firms to ensure age checks are highly effective before introducing them. Anything less could leave children at risk.”
Companies that fail to comply with the Online Safety Act can be fined by Ofcom up to £18 million or 10% of their annual global turnover, whichever is greater.
The investigation is the latest dispute between Ofcom and Aylo over Pornhub’s compliance with the UK’s online safety rules.
In October 2025, Pornhub said traffic from UK users had fallen by more than 75% following the introduction of tougher age verification requirements under the OSA.
There were questions over whether some users were instead using Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) to bypass the checks.
In January 2026, Pornhub announced that it would restrict access to its website in the UK, blaming the tougher age verification requirements. Only people who had previously created a Pornhub account would be able to access its content.
Aylo said the changes to the Online Safety Act requiring age verification had “not achieved its goal of protecting minors” and had “diverted traffic to darker, unregulated corners of the internet”.
However, in May, Aylo said Pornhub would become available again to some UK Apple users who had confirmed their age using the company’s most up-to-date version of iOS.
