LONDON—Social media platform X was ordered by Ofcom, the United Kingdom's digital regulator, to block users within the U.K. identified as minors from accessing pornography on the site, British news outlet The Telegraph reports.
New rules come into force on Friday of this week, requiring all companies that host pornography to introduce so-called "robust" and "highly effective" age assurance tech to prevent anyone under the age of 18 from accessing content that is pornographic, sexually explicit and/or age-restricted.
The Telegraph reports that a source from His Majesty's Government told the outlet, "If X or any other company that hosts pornography has not introduced highly effective age assurance by this Friday deadline, Ofcom has been clear that they will face enforcement action."
This action comes after Reddit and Bluesky adopted similar age verification measures to be in compliance with the Ofcom order to adopt age assurance standards.
X, Reddit, Bluesky and similar mainstream platforms are popular for adult content marketing for both studios and indie content creators.
Ofcom additionally released on Monday its final guidance for online safety transparency reporting, including its efforts to adopt an age-appropriate design for platforms.
"All online services within the scope of the Online Safety regime must protect all U.K. users from illegal content and, where applicable, protect children from online harm," reads the official guidance document published by Ofcom.
