Ofcom have just announced that, from 25 July 2025, all pornography sites and apps accessed in the UK must implement effective age checks to protect children from adult content. Driven by the Online Safety Act, this announcement marks a critical step forward in protecting young people online.
We welcome Ofcom taking clear enforcement action and securing commitments from major pornography providers to introduce robust age assurance systems. The scale of children's exposure to online pornography is stark: according to Ofcom’s latest research, 8% of children aged 8–14 accessed pornographic content in a single month, including 3% of children aged just 8–9.
This new legal requirement brings pornography closer to the same standards we apply to offline products like alcohol, tobacco, and gambling.
What will happen on July 25th?
While we support Ofcom’s firm action, we must stress: this cannot be the end of scrutiny. The Online Safety Act is a comprehensive framework, and platforms must adhere to all its provisions, not only those currently under the spotlight. That includes protections from content promoting suicide, self-harm, eating disorders, violent extremism, and other forms of harm that affect children’s online experiences.
From July 25th, social media, search, and gaming platforms must also ensure children are not exposed to this type of harmful content. Recommender systems must be configured to filter out harmful material, and effective age assurance must be used to identify under-18 users on high-risk services. These are not optional features, they are now legal obligations.
The Online Safety Act sets out a clear legal duty to assess, mitigate, and manage risks to children across a wide range of online harms. Age checks for pornography are a crucial piece of that puzzle, but many gaps still remain.
Innovation and Privacy Must Go Hand in Hand
We support Ofcom’s and the ICO’s position that adult access and privacy must be protected under the new age assurance systems. This balance between child protection and adult privacy is both achievable and necessary, and it must not be used as a reason to delay or dilute enforcement.
Now is the time for full transparency about age assurance methods, algorithmic design choices, and risk mitigation processes. Ofcom’s powers to investigate, fine, and even block non-compliant sites are necessary and they must be used where companies fail to act.
Enforcement must be ongoing and platforms must understand that compliance with the Online Safety Act is not an optional task but a fundamental responsibility to ensure the safety of children in digital spaces.
