UK fines OnlyFans operator $1.4 million over age-check disclosure failures

Britain's media and telecommunications regulator, Ofcom, said on Thursday it has fined the operator of OnlyFans, an adults-only website and social media platform, 1.05 million pounds ($1.4 million) over disclosure failures related to age.

The operator, Fenix International Limited, had failed to provide accurate information over how it was implementing age checks and how effective OnlyFans' third-party facial estimation technology was, the watchdog said.

With $1.3 billion in revenue and more than 300 million users, OnlyFans has fused sex work with the online creator economy so successfully that it has branched out into comedy, music and motor-racing.

Ofcom said its investigation found that OnlyFans had told the regulator that its technology to use live selfies submitted by users to estimate their age had a "challenger age" of 23 years old, when instead it was set at 20 years.

Fenix notified the regulator of its error in disclosing the age last year, Ofcom said, adding that the company had elected to raise the threshold to 23 years in January 2025, but lowered it to 21 years within a few days.

"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," its enforcement director, Suzanne Cater, said in a statement.

"We will hold platforms to high standards and will not hesitate to take enforcement action where we find failings."

A spokeswoman for OnlyFans welcomed Ofcom's decision to close the investigation, and said the platform "recognises the importance of providing Ofcom with accurate and timely information".

Fenix did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.