UK watchdog investigates 22 porn sites over age verification failures

The UK’s communications regulation authority has launched age verification investigations into 22 porn sites, that collectively have over eight million unique monthly UK visitors.

Ofcom said that sites have been targeted because they saw increased traffic after tougher rules for age verification for online porn access came into effect in the UK on July 25, 2025. From that date sites allowing the sharing and distribution of porn have needed to implement robust age verification to ensure that users are aged 18 or over.

Five companies are being probed as part of the new investigation: Web Prime Inc, Youngtek Solutions Ltd, ZD Media s.r.o, Xgroovy and Cyberitic, LLC.

Sites under the remit of the companies include Shesfreaky, Anysex, Empflix, Max.porn and Pornhat. The sites under the microscope aren’t exactly household names; it was reported that following many major porn sites bringing in tougher age verification for UK users on July 25, some smaller sites that didn’t implement age verification saw spikes in UK visitor numbers.

Ofcom said: “These sites have been prioritised based on the risk of harm they pose and their user numbers, including where there have been significant increases in their user numbers since the 25 July deadline.”

The regulatory body also said that the UK’s top ten most-visited porn sites had introduced age checks for UK users, as had “many smaller” porn sites.

When tested using a UK IP address on September 11, SEXTECHGUIDE found that most of the 22 sites Ofcom is investigating did not appear to require users to go through age verification before accessing porn. Some sites operated by Youngtek Solutions Ltd did appear to have an age verification check before porn is accessed, although it’s unclear when it was introduced.

Ofcom said it is now investigating a total of 69 porn sites and apps over age verification. Prior to the new investigation into the 22 sites, Ofcom revealed that it was targeting some smaller porn sites it suspected of not complying with the new rules.

It had also been announced that some so-called ‘nudify’ apps, that create fake images of real people without clothes, were also being investigated by Ofcom.