The UK communications regulation authority, Ofcom, has launched an investigation into two “smaller” porn sites over user age verification, sending a message that the authority will not just be pursuing big porn sites in its crackdown.
Under the UK’s recently-introduced Online Safety Act, sites and platforms providing porn are required to enforce rigid user age verification. Sites that create their own porn had to do this from earlier in 2025, while sites that allow porn to be shared need to do so by July 25, 2025.
On Tuesday (June 10) Ofcom announced that it was investigating First Time Videos: a company that runs the porn sites FTVGirls and FTVMilfs. The two sites are somewhat niche, and feature design and graphics that don’t exactly scream “2025”. As of June 18, the sites did not require thorough age verification in our testing.
Conversations around the age verification crackdown being seen in the UK plus countries such as the US and France have tended to focus on the biggest porn sites, such as Pornhub. Recently Aylo, Pornhub’s parent company, blocked access to its porn sites in France, saying that it wasn’t feasible for the sites to adhere to new age verification requirements.
Not only the elephants
By announcing its new investigation Ofcom is making a show of targeting far smaller porn sites, in a move that’s likely to have many similar smaller sites reassessing their age verification processes. Sites that publish and create their own porn are already required to verify user ages using methods such as official ID checks.
Ofcom said: “As well as engaging with large platforms about their new duties, our dedicated taskforce has been attempting to engage with a number of smaller sites that may present particular risks to users.”
The communications authority also announced that it was investigating seven file-sharing services, after receiving complaints about child sex abuse material potentially being shared on them. The seven file-sharing services are Im.ge, Krakenfiles, Nippybox, Nippydrive, Nippyshare, Nippyspace and Yolobit.
The notorious online forum 4chan is also being investigated by Ofcom, after the authority received complaints about potential unspecified illegal content on it. 4chan is known for being a pit of conspiracy theories, including the now-abandoned right-wing QAnon conspiracy theory.
In May Ofcom announced that it was investigating a US-based company that runs around 100 porn sites, as well as a company behind AI ‘nudify’ sites, over age verification.
Also in May the European Commission announced that it was investigating four porn sites and platforms, including Pornhub, suspecting them of not adhering to EU age verification rules.
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