Ofcom probes Pornhub over Apple age checks⁠.

Ofcom has opened an investigation into Aylo, the owner of Pornhub, over whether the site's new age checks actually stop children reaching adult content.¹ The Financial Times reports that the regulator is examining whether the service provider meets its duty to protect children online.² In May, Pornhub began using a new age verification process for some UK users that relied on a third party, Apple.¹

Ofcom said it will not investigate how Apple operates its age checks, so the question is about Pornhub's conduct rather than Apple's product.¹ Its concern is that Aylo "may not have conducted sufficient due diligence and testing" before switching the process on, and so it "may not be highly effective" at keeping children away from pornography.¹ The investigation will look at how Aylo implements its age verification and whether it did the "necessary due diligence" first.¹

Under the Online Safety Act, sites that host pornography must use highly effective age assurance to make sure users are over 18, but the law leaves the choice of method to the service.¹ George Lusty, Ofcom's Director of Enforcement, said: "We expect tech firms to ensure age checks are highly effective before introducing them. Anything less could leave children at risk".¹ Ofcom can fine a company up to £18 million or 10% of its annual global turnover, whichever is greater.¹

Aylo strongly defends its system and says it will cooperate fully with the investigation.¹ It argues that Apple's checks provide "significantly stronger protection than any other age assurance method currently available in the UK market", and notes that Ofcom once praised Apple's technology as "a real win for children and families".¹ Iain Corby, executive director of the Age Verification Providers Association, told the BBC that a site cannot rely on a device based system alone unless it can show that children are in fact kept out to the required standard.¹ He doubted Aylo could show that the person visiting is always the one who proved their age on the device.¹

The two have history. Pornhub restricted access in the UK in January, blaming the tougher checks, then said in May it would reopen to some Apple users who had confirmed their age on the latest version of iOS.¹

Buying a check is not doing one

Set the subject matter aside and this is a supplier question every regulated business faces. Aylo did not build its age check. It plugged in one from the most trusted name available, and Ofcom's concern is that it did not test it enough before relying on it. The regulator is looking at the firm that serves the customer, not the firm that made the tool. The same logic applies to anything a business puts in front of customers on someone else's say so, an AI agent included.

The awkward part is that Aylo may be right that Apple's check is among the best on offer, and still have a problem. Being good is not the test here. Showing that you checked it works, for your customers and in your setting, is. If you rely on a supplier's verification, screening or model for something the law makes your responsibility, keep a record of how you tested it before it went live.

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