Brits will have to use face ID to access Pornhub and OnlyFans in new crackdown coming into effect in just a few months
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PORN watchers in the UK will have to use face ID to access Pornhub and Onlyfans in a few months, it has been announced. The sites are some of the most popular for accessing the X-rated material, but an Ofcom crackdown on age verification will soon hit Brits.
![[Illustration of Pornhub logo on a smartphone screen against a background of US dollar bills.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/photo-illustration-adult-pornographic-video-751800901.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
Ofcom has announced the news, with a hard deadline set for July for the sites to use this technology. Dame Melanie Dawes, Ofcom's chief executive, said: "For too long, many online services which allow porn and other harmful material have ignored the fact that children are accessing their services.
![[Pornhub age verification screen.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/2025-meanwhile-united-states-countrys-964217533.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
"Either they don't ask or, when they do, the checks are minimal and easy to avoid. "That means companies have effectively been treating all users as if they're adults, leaving children potentially exposed to porn and other types of harmful content. "Today, this starts to change.".
![[Illustration of the OnlyFans logo on a smartphone screen.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/photo-illustration-onlyfans-logo-content-756850218.jpg?strip=all&w=960){kind=logo}
Examples of age verification tools include photo ID matching, facial age estimation or credit card checks. In even stricter measures, under the Online Safety Act, all social media and search services are required to carry out a children's access assessment.
![[Pornhub logo at a company booth.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/pornhub-logo-displayed-companys-booth-585724321.jpg?strip=all&w=960){kind=logo}
This is to determine if their site is likely to be accessed by children. Ofcom has given platforms until April 16 to complete this. Ofcom said it will then publish codes of practice for sites that are likely to be accessed by children. This will set out how they can implement measures to keep younger users safe.
![[OnlyFans logo displayed on a laptop screen.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/onlyfans-logo-displayed-laptop-onlyfans-815100094.jpg?strip=all&w=960){kind=logo}
These checks will be required, regardless of the type of site, if it allows pornography. Melanie continued: "Services which host their own pornography must start to introduce age checks immediately, while other user-to-user services – including social media – which allow pornography and certain other types of content harmful to children will have to follow suit by July at the latest.
