Adult pay-TV company did not have acceptable web controls to check users were aged 18 or over, Ofcom concludes

This article is more than 7 years old

This article is more than 7 years old

Playboy has been fined £100,000 by Ofcom for offering hardcore videos and pornographic images online that could by accessed by children.

The media regulator said that the adult pay-TV company's failure to have proper controls to stop young people accessing two of its websites was "serious, repeated and reckless".

Ofcom found that Playboy did not have acceptable web controls to check that users accessing the porn sites were aged 18 or over. Controls that can be used include asking users for credit card details, which are not available to those aged below 18.

The regulator found that Playboy's Demand Adult homepage carried hardcore pornographic material that was possible to view by anybody at the click of a button. Extra pornographic material could be accessed with just a debit card. Ofcom fined Demand Adult £65,000.

The Playboy TV website required users to self-certify age, however the homepage material was not as explicit as that on Demand Adult.

Again access to further material was available with just a debit card, which Ofcom said is not an effective age verification system, as under-18s can use them. Ofcom fined Playboy TV £35,000.

"We concluded that Playboy's failure to protect children from potentially accessing these sites was serious, repeated and reckless," said Ofcom.

In 2011, the Playboy TV channel was fined £110,000 for broadcasting a series of television ads for its adult sex chat services featuring "presenters" enticing viewers with sexual gestures.

Ofcom fined adult content website Strictly Broadband £60,000 in December, for failing to have effective age verification controls.

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