OnlyFans faces probe from UK watchdog over age verification
OnlyFans, one of Britain's top tech companies, is the focus of an investigation by UK regulator Ofcom which is looking at the subscription-content platform's age verification processes.
Ofcom said it is concerned about potential breaches in age verification that may have allowed minors to access explicit content.
The UK regulator is scrutinizing the platform’s adherence to age assurance protocols, following reports of a coding mistake which set incorrect age thresholds.
OnlyFans, a subscription service that mostly hosts adult content, confirmed the error, noting that it affected third-party age estimation technology which is supposed to prevent under-18s from registering.
Yoti, the software in question, reportedly set a lower age limit of 20 years instead of the intended 23 during a specific period.
Ofcom's ongoing investigation seeks to determine the effectiveness of OnlyFans' corrective actions and their overall compliance with VSP regulations.
Explore Bias:
Its notable that descriptions and framing of the story vary slightly across sources, with some outlets emphasizing the technical glitch whilst others focus on regulatory compliance.
The framing of some headlines could be seen as leaning toward sensationalism, given the specific context of the Yoti error which set a lower age limit of 20 - which whilst erroneous does not equate to 'minors' or children, albeit the Ofcom probe is looking more broadly at the age verification process used by OnlyFans.
Explore More Stories:
- "OnlyFans hits UK regulator’s radar for age-verification failures around porn access" - TechCrunch
- "OnlyFans investigated over children accessing pornography - The Guardian"
- "OnlyFans investigated over fears it has exposed children to pornography" - The Telegraph
- "Ofcom investigates OnlyFans over age verification measures" - The Standard
- "OnlyFans investigated over children accessing porn" - BBC News
