OnlyFans fined £1m over inaccurate responses to information requests

27 March 2025, 13:44

Onlyfans logo and website displayed on smartphone screen
Onlyfans logo and website displayed on smartphone screen. December 29, 2024. Picture: PA

The regulator said it had issued a fine of £1.05 million to the provider of the site, Fenix International.

The firm behind subscription site OnlyFans has been fined £1.05 million by Ofcom for failing to accurately respond to formal information requests.

The regulator said Fenix International Limited had been fined for not providing accurate information on its age assurance measures when requested.

In June 2022 and June 2023, Ofcom had sought details from Fenix on what age check measures it had in place on OnlyFans – but Fenix then proactively alerted Ofcom in January 2024 that it had provided incorrect information on the “challenge age” set for its age estimation technology.

As a result, Ofcom launched several investigations into Fenix in May last year.

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.”

An OnlyFans spokesperson 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.”

Last month, Ofcom dropped another of its probes into OnlyFans, looking at whether the site was doing enough to prevent under-18s accessing pornography on the platform.

At the time the investigations into OnlyFans were first launched, the platform said a “coding configuration issue” around its age verification tools had led to the reporting error and that it was confident it had always met its obligations to protect under-18s from accessing restricted material.

By Press Association

More Technology News

See more More Technology News

The hand of a young child using a laptop

New online safety rules will force tech firms to change, Ofcom insists

Undated handout photo issued by the Ministry of Defence of the Malloy Drone

UK restricts export of video game controllers to Russia amid use to pilot drones

Science, Innovation and Technology Secretary Peter Kyle arrives in Downing Street, London, for a Cabinet meeting

Government would not support social media ban for under-16s, minister says

A child using a laptop

Q&A: What do Ofcom’s new child online safety rules mean for social media?

A young girl in the dark staring into her mobile phone

Ofcom sets out new rules to force tech firms to protect children online

Cabinet meeting

Social media curfews could be imposed on children, says Technology Secretary

A blurred woman using a mobile phone

UK to ban ‘sim farms’ used by scammers to send mass fraud messages

Apple and Meta have been fined a combined £600m for breaching EU competition rules

Apple and Meta fined a combined £600m for breaching EU competition rules

WhatsApp

WhatsApp launches privacy tool to stop users taking content off the platform

Intel logo

Intel planning to cut more than 20% of staff – reports

Hands on a laptop

Apple and Meta fined a combined £600m for breaching EU competition rules

A line of police officers in riot gear, with a fire on wasteland in the background

Oversight Board overturns Facebook decision to leave up posts about summer riots

Marks & Spencer has apologised after its stores were impacted by a “cyber incident"

Marks & Spencer ‘cyber incident’ hits shops’ contactless payments and affects online orders

A child’s hand pressing a key of a laptop keyboard

‘Record levels of web pages hosting child sex abuse imagery discovered in 2024’

Scientists say they have discovered a 'new colour' never seen before by the human eye

Scientists say they have discovered a 'new colour' never seen before by the human eye - calling the results 'remarkable'

Gabriel's Wharf on the South Bank, London, UK

Brew-tiful weather! Coder maps real-time sun and shade for cafés and pubs