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Ofcom found that Fenix failed to verify the accuracy of the information it provided while also delaying to inform the watchdog once it realised its error.
Fenix International Limited, OnlyFans’ operator, has been slapped with a £1.05m fine by Ofcom for failing to provide accurate information about the age assurance measures it has in place on the adult-only platform.
In 2022 and 2023, the UK telecoms regulator asked Fenix about the measures it had in place on OnlyFans to ensure minors were restricted from accessing its services. This was a part of an information gathering exercise to monitor how video-sharing platforms keep children safe, said the watchdog.
Ofcom’s request from Fenix included information on how the platform was implementing age checks, specifically the effectiveness of OnlyFans’ third-party facial estimation technology.
As part of its response, Fenix informed Ofcom that it had set the facial estimation “challenge age” on OnlyFans to 23 years old. The tech, which works by analysing a live selfie, would ask a user estimated to be under 23 to verify through a secondary method that they are over the age of 18.
While it is not a platform dedicated to adult content, much of the popularity associated with OnlyFans relates to sex work and sexually explicit content which users can access for a subscription fee.
However, the company learned in early January 2024 that the challenge age had been set to 20 and not 23 years. Moreover, Fenix only informed Ofcom of this error weeks later.
Furthermore, on 16 January this year, the company decided to raise the challenge age to 23 years old, only to bring it back down to 21 just days later.
Ofcom, which investigated this matter, concluded that Fenix failed to recognise for more than 16 months that it had provided the UK telecoms watchdog with inaccurate information.
According to the regulator, Fenix is a large and well-resourced company and as such should have taken steps to ensure accurate information was given.
It said that the inaccuracy of the data Ofcom received undermined the organisation’s ability to carry out its regulatory function. Moreover, the regulator also found Fenix at fault for its delay in informing Ofcom of the inaccurate information.
“When we use our statutory powers to request information from platforms, they are required, by law, to ensure it is complete, accurate and delivered to us on time,” said Suzanne Cater, Ofcom’s enforcement director.
“Receiving accurate and complete information is fundamental for Ofcom to do its job as a regulator and to understand and monitor how platforms are operating. We will hold platforms to high standards and will not hesitate to take enforcement action where we find failings.”
Speaking to SiliconRepublic.com, a spokesperson from Yoti, the third-party provider of the facial age estimation tech used by OnlyFans, clarified that the challenge age thresholds are always set by the customer, not the provider.
“The issue reported today relates to OnlyFans inadvertently reporting to Ofcom that they had set a threshold of 23 years when they had actually set it at 20 years.
“OnlyFans has always proactively elected to set the threshold for Yoti above 18 years old. The threshold is always set by the business, rather than by Yoti, as it is always the responsibility of each business to set an appropriate threshold either in compliance with regulatory requirements or to meet their internal operating policies.”
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Updated, 4.35pm, 27 March 2025: This article was amended to include a statement from age estimation tech provider Yoti and to amend an error that was included in Ofcom’s original statement, clarifying that Fenix had set the challenge age.
