London, 26 June 2025 – The Age Verification Providers Association, the global trade association for suppliers of age assurance technology, congratulates Ofcom on winning the confidence of major names in the adult industry who have publicly committed to complying with the new UK law requiring 18+ age checks from the end of July.
Ofcom has persuaded a large number of adult sites to commit to complying with the Online Safety Act, including Pornhub, the most-visited pornographic service in the UK, as well as BoyfriendTV, Cam4, FrolicMe, inxxx, Jerkmate, LiveHDCams, MyDirtyHobby, RedTube, Streamate, Stripchat, Tube8 and YouPorn. Many more sites are lined up to follow.
Other jurisdictions, including France, Germany and several US states, have found their enforcement attempts thwarted by ongoing legal challenges. Ofcom may have successfully pre-empted years in the courts through its proactive engagement with the adult sector well before needing to resort to formal enforcement.
The UK regulator’s commitment to enforcing a level playing field – where adult sites large, medium and small face fines, blocking or the withdrawal of critical business services if they ignore the law – was key to winning the cooperation of the adult industry. Taking a technically neutral approach and enabling a range of options for “highly effective age assurance” was also essential, giving users a choice of the methods they feel most comfortable using.
The AgeAware ecosystem from euCONSENT ASBL will also support this regime by enabling interoperability across participating sites. That means users can verify their age once and reuse that same check across multiple sites, even when those sites use different age assurance providers.
Alastair Graham, Co-Chair of the AVPA, said:
“Ofcom’s achievement shows what can be done when a regulator works collaboratively with both the age verification industry and online service providers. The result is a regime that protects children, respects adult rights and sets a benchmark for the rest of the world.”
Julie Dawson, Co-Chair of the AVPA, added:
“This is a turning point for online safety. The UK has shown that privacy-preserving age assurance can be scaled and enforced without compromising user anonymity or choice. We are proud of the role our members have played in helping to make this possible.”
Notes for Editors
1. From 25 July 2025, any adult website or social media platform with a significant number of UK users must implement highly effective age assurance to prevent minors from accessing pornography.
2. Ofcom is the first regulator to secure public compliance from major international adult websites ahead of enforcement powers taking effect.
3. A list of examples of highly effective age assurance methods has been published by Ofcom, but it is non-exhaustive so encourages innovation in new ways of checking users’ ages.
About The Age Verification Providers Association
The AVPA is the global trade body for independent providers of privacy-protecting, standards-based age assurance technology. Our mission is to make the internet “age-aware”.
As an association, we work to:
1. Inform and educate the public, industry and media on age verification and age estimation solutions and technology
2. Promote a positive image of privacy-preserving age assurance and the independent sector which delivers it
3. Represent the industry to regulators and lawmakers for the advancement of best practice
The AVPA was formed in 2018 and is growing rapidly as the age and identity provider industry takes off. The AVPA is governed by a representative board drawn from its member organisations.
