LONDON—Ofcom, the United Kingdom's digital regulator tasked with enforcing regulations under the Online Safety Act, announced on Thursday that it has fined Itai Tech, the parent company of the controversial artificial intelligence-powered nudification site Undress.cc.
Itai Tech was fined £50,000 for failing to use age verification and assurance technology to protect minors from online adult content. The company has "failed to use highly effective age assurance to protect children from encountering pornographic content," Ofcom concluded. "The fines will be passed on to [His Majesty's] Treasury."
The regulator added that it was investigating an additional 20 adult websites and the companies that own them for failure to comply with age checks.
Ofcom also noted that it reached two "provisional decisions" implicating the companies 8579 LLC, the owner of a cloned paysite network, and Kick Online Entertainment S.A., the parent company of controversial tube site Motherless.com.
"Both providers now have an opportunity to make representations to us before we make our final decisions," explained the regulator.
Investigations were initiated into the parent companies of 20 other sites, including sites owned by Sun Social Media Inc.
Sun Social Media operates www.playvids.com and www.peekvids.com. Other companies include the operators of www.xxbrits.com and its related sites, the operator of www.porntrex.com and its related sites, and the operators of www.fapello.com and www.hqporner.com.
Ofcom also expanded investigations into sites owned by the companies Cyberitic, LLC and the unnamed provider of xgroovy.com to "determine whether they have also failed to adequately respond to Ofcom’s formal requests for information."
"The use of highly effective age assurance to protect children from harmful pornographic content is non-negotiable, and we will accept no excuses for failure," explained Suzanne Cater, director of enforcement at Ofcom.
She added, "Any service which fails to meet their age-check duties under the Online Safety Act can expect to face robust enforcement action, including significant fines.”
