Elon Musk's X ordered to block porn access for children or face up to £200 million fine
The directive, which comes into effect this Friday (July 25), is part of the Online Safety Act 2023, a law designed to protect both children and adults from harmful online content.
According to MailOnline, the new rules require that "all firms hosting pornography online must have robust and highly effective age checks" in place to stop users under the age of 18 from viewing explicit material.
'By Friday, all sites and apps that allow pornography – whether they're dedicated adult sites or social media apps – must use highly effective age checks,' a UK government insider told the news outlet.
'If companies fail to act, they should expect to face enforcement.'
Under the new regime, any company that fails to comply could be hit with fines of up to £18 million or 10% of global revenue, whichever is higher. For Musk's platform X—previously known as Twitter—this could mean a potential penalty of £200 million, based on its estimated £2 billion in global revenue, the publication reported.
Industry insiders cited by the news outlet suggest that X may have three options to meet Ofcom's demands: Ban under-18s entirely from using the platform
Remove all pornographic content from the site
Introduce targeted age checks for accounts or sections containing adult material
Age checks could include facial recognition tools, photo ID submission, open banking verification, or mobile phone provider checks.
The enforcement push comes amid growing criticism of Elon Musk's digital ventures. MailOnline notes that his AI company xAI recently launched a chatbot 'girlfriend' accessible to users as young as 12, raising further alarm among regulators and parents.
Musk, 54, has overseen X since acquiring it in 2022. The platform, which officially allows users aged 13 and up, has long been criticized for hosting a high volume of explicit content.
In addition to monetary penalties, Ofcom now has the authority to bar non-compliant platforms from operating in the UK, a move that could severely impact platforms like X if action isn't taken swiftly.
As per the news report, a UK government insider is standing firm: 'If X or any other company that hosts pornography has not introduced highly effective age assurance by this Friday deadline, Ofcom has been clear that they will face enforcement action.'
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