- Regulator shares concerns at age verification measures used on website
- UK-based platform was previously at the centre of an underage creators scandal
UK telecoms watchdog Ofcom has launched an investigation into subscription social media platform OnlyFans after it suspected the site of not doing enough to prevent children from accessing pornography on the site.
The regulator says it has opened formal proceedings against the UK-based platform, which is predominantly used by sex workers to produce paywalled adult content, over its age verification measures.
Under existing rules pre-dating the UK’s new Online Safety Act, video-sharing platforms in the UK are required to take appropriate action to prevent those aged under 18 from accessing pornographic material.
OnlyFans, like other sites hosting adult video content, has introduced age verification measures – but Ofcom says it has ‘grounds to suspect’ parent firm parent firm Fenix International did not implement measures effectively to protect children.
The probe comes after a 2021 investigation found girls as young as 13 were able to set up ‘creator’ accounts allowing them to sell illegal sexual content of themselves on the site to paying adults.
Ofcom’s investigation into OnlyFans concerns the age verification processes for ‘fan’ accounts that access paid-for content on the platform
UK-based OnlyFans is used by a variety of content creators – but the vast majority are sex workers offering subscription-based pornography
OnlyFans says the error in its reporting related to how its platform was working with age-verification platform Yoti (pictured: a stock image of the Yoti verification app)
Ofcom’s current investigation only relates to ‘fan’ accounts – those that are set up to subscribe to the content provided on ‘creator’ accounts. Creator accounts are always approved manually by a dedicated moderation team.
The regulator said: ‘Having reviewed submissions we received from OnlyFans in response to formal information requests, we have grounds to suspect the platform did not implement its age verification measures in such a way as to sufficiently protect under-18s from pornographic material.
‘We are also investigating whether OnlyFans failed to comply with its duties to provide complete and accurate information in response to these statutory requests.’
OnlyFans says the investigation has been prompted because of a ‘coding configuration issue’ involving Yoti, a digital service for verifying people’s identities and age that is UK Government-approved.
A spokesperson for OnlyFans told MailOnline: ‘As the leading UK-based and regulated social media platform, OnlyFans works closely with Ofcom to implement and develop best-practices on online safety, including the use of age-assurance technology.
‘In addition to requiring that all users provide their name and payment card details, OnlyFans uses the government-approved age-assurance provider Yoti.
‘A coding configuration issue with Yoti led to a reporting error which stated a threshold was set to 23 years-of-age, during a period of time when it had been set to 20. (always higher than the requirement of 18).
‘OnlyFans discovered the reporting error and proactively amended our report to Ofcom.’
Ofcom said it will provide an update on its investigation in due course.
It is not the first time OnlyFans has found itself under the microscope for its safeguarding against illegal use of the platform by underage users.
While the platform does also feature celebrities and content creators such as fitness gurus, chefs and other influencers, the site’s primary business is in allowing sex workers to make money off of their content directly via subscribers.
A 2021 BBC investigation found a 17-year-old girl was able to sell videos of herself performing sex acts and using sex toys on the platform.
She used a fake ID to set up her account and received £5,000 in one week in income from paying subscribers before her bank account was frozen.
The probe also heard from safeguarding charity Childline, which said it had been told by one girl that she had been using the site as a ‘creator’ since the age of 13.
Anonymised notes from the conversation the child had with the charity read: ‘I don’t wanna talk about the types of pictures I post on there and I know it’s not appropriate for kids my age to be doing this, but it’s an easy way to make money.
‘Some of the girls have thousands of followers on Instagram and they must be raking it in – I wanna be just like them.’
OnlyFans said at the time that creators’ accounts were manually reviewed by a moderation team before they were approved in order to guarantee their authenticity.
