In this guide
- Why verification is everything in my industry
- What Ofcom found
- How a “challenge age” works
- What the fine was, and was not, about
- The UK’s age-check rules since July 2025
- The Reuters investigation
- How creators are verified
- What creators should do
- My take
In the adult industry, there is one rule above all others: everyone must be an adult and must consent. On a professional set, that means IDs are checked, documented and stored before anything is filmed. On creator platforms, it means identity verification for every creator and every person who appears in their content.
So when the regulator in the United Kingdom fined the company behind OnlyFans for giving it wrong information about age checks, I paid attention. Not because it was a scandal, but because it showed how serious verification has become, and how serious it should be.
What Ofcom found
On 27 March 2025, Ofcom, the UK communications regulator, fined Fenix International Limited, the provider of OnlyFans, £1.05 million (Ofcom).
According to Ofcom:
- In June 2022 and June 2023, Ofcom asked Fenix for information about OnlyFans’ age assurance measures, including the effectiveness of its third-party facial age estimation technology.
- Fenix said it had set the challenge age for that technology at 23.
- On 4 January 2024, Fenix learned from its technology provider that the challenge age was actually 20, and later confirmed it had been set at 20 since 1 November 2021.
- Fenix told Ofcom about the error on 22 January 2024, and Ofcom opened an investigation on 1 May 2024.
- Ofcom concluded Fenix had failed to provide accurate and complete information in response to two statutory requests.
The fine included a 30% reduction because Fenix accepted the findings and settled. Ofcom criticised the fact that it took the company over 16 months to discover the inaccurate information, and more than two weeks to report it after finding out (BBC; Reuters).
A difference of three years on a setting sounds small. In age verification, it is the whole point.
How a “challenge age” works
Facial age estimation works like this: a new user takes a live selfie, and software estimates their age. Because no estimate is perfect, platforms use a buffer called a challenge age. If the software estimates you are older than the challenge age, you pass. If not, you must prove you are over 18 another way, for example with an ID document.
Ofcom compares it to the approach used for selling alcohol: shops ask for ID from anyone who looks younger than a certain age, not just anyone who looks under 18. A higher challenge age means more people are asked for ID; a lower one means fewer.
This explains why the error mattered. A challenge age of 20 instead of 23 meant more people were passed by the software without a secondary check than the regulator had been told.
What the fine was, and was not, about
It is important to be precise. The Ofcom fine was not a finding that minors had used OnlyFans because of the setting. It was a penalty for giving the regulator inaccurate information, which Ofcom said undermined its work and forced it to correct data it had published.
As Ofcom’s Enforcement Director Suzanne Cater put it, platforms must, by law, ensure information requested is “complete, accurate and delivered to us on time.”
Still, the message to the industry was clear: regulators now examine verification in technical detail, and they will act if companies get it wrong.
The UK’s age-check rules since July 2025
Since then, the rules have become stricter. Under the Online Safety Act, from 25 July 2025, services in scope that allow pornography must use “highly effective” age assurance to stop children from accessing it (Ofcom, Age checks to protect children online).
Ofcom lists methods it considers capable of being highly effective, including:
- Photo ID matching
- Facial age estimation
- Open banking
- Credit card checks
- Digital identity services
- Mobile network operator checks
Simply asking users to tick a box saying they are over 18 is not enough. I explain how similar laws are spreading in the US and Europe in porn age verification laws.
The Reuters investigation
The pressure on OnlyFans did not come only from regulators. In July 2024, Reuters published an investigation reporting that it had identified 30 complaints in US police and court records, between December 2019 and June 2024, involving child sexual abuse material on OnlyFans (Reuters investigation).
OnlyFans has said it has strict safety measures and that it works with law enforcement. Both things can be true: a platform can have stronger verification than many others and still be exploited by criminals. That is why verification must keep improving.
How creators are verified
According to OnlyFans’ terms, creators must be at least 18, provide a valid ID and selfie photos, and pass identity verification before they can earn. Anyone who appears in a creator’s content must also be verified and give written, informed consent (OnlyFans Terms). I explain the full process in how OnlyFans works.
This is the same principle as on a professional porn set. As I explain in consent on a porn set and porn STI testing, professional productions check IDs and keep records. In the US, those record-keeping duties are set out in federal law known as 2257 (18 U.S.C. § 2257).
What creators should do
If you are a creator, verification is not something to resent. It protects you. My advice:
- Never film or post with anyone who is not verified on the platform, no matter what they tell you.
- Keep your own records of IDs and signed consent for anyone you collaborate with, stored securely.
- Never accept “I’ll verify later.” Later is too late.
- Report anything suspicious immediately to the platform.
- Protect your own data. Verification involves sensitive documents, so use official processes only and never send your ID to agencies or strangers. Read OnlyFans creator privacy and safety.
Why fans should care too
For fans, age checks can feel annoying. Nobody likes uploading a selfie or entering card details to watch content. I understand that. But think about the alternative: an internet where anyone can upload anything, of anyone, with no checks. That is what led to the Pornhub crisis of 2020, which I explain in how tube sites changed porn.
Verification has costs, and privacy concerns about storing ID data are real and legitimate. But a legal adult industry depends on proving that everyone involved is an adult. Fans who support verified platforms are supporting the creators who follow the rules.
My take
After 14 years in this industry, I can tell you that the professionals I respect most are the strictest about IDs. They check everything, every time, even for people they have worked with before. Not because they distrust their colleagues, but because there is no margin for error.
The Ofcom fine was, in money terms, small for a company that pays billions to creators. But the message was big: regulators are watching how age checks actually work, not just what companies say. For an industry that has always been accused of not caring, I think that is good news. Verification is what makes legal adult work possible.
For the human stories of the women who built careers in this industry, visit House of Maximo.
To follow my work, visit maximogarciaworld.com, and for the 18+ side, fuckingpornstars.net.
General information based on public sources at the time of writing. Not legal advice.
Sources
- Ofcom. Ofcom fines provider of OnlyFans £1.05 million. 27 March 2025.
- Reuters. UK watchdog fines OnlyFans operator over age-check disclosure failures. March 2025.
- Ofcom. Age checks to protect children online.
- Reuters. OnlyFans vows it’s a safe space. Predators are exploiting kids there. July 2, 2024.
- OnlyFans. Terms of Service.
- Cornell Law School. 18 U.S. Code § 2257: Record keeping requirements.
