Visional Media Ltd: compliance assurances to protect under-18s from pornographic videos on Xpanded

Background

Ofcom’s role is to ensure video-sharing platforms (VSPs) based in the UK have appropriate systems and processes in place to effectively protect their users from harmful video content in the scope of the VSP regime. This is covered in Part 4B of the Communications Act 2003 (the Act). Following the Online Safety Act, which received Royal Assent on 26 October 2023, the obligations in Part 4B of the Act continue to apply for a transitionary period to all providers of pre-existing UK-established VSPs, such as Visional Media. The transitional period commenced on 10 January 2024 and will continue until such time as the VSP regime is repealed in full on a date to be determined under regulations made by the Secretary of State.

On 10 January 2023, Ofcom opened an enforcement programme to look at whether UK-established VSPs that specialise in adult content have appropriate age assurance measures in place, as required under the VSP regime. We assessed the measures taken by platforms to assure the age of their users and prevent users under the age of 18 from accessing videos containing ‘restricted material’, specifically pornographic material.

In addition to undertaking extensive information-gathering, we also worked closely with platforms to better understand their approaches and any challenges they faced when considering implementing age assurance measures.

Our concerns

Our assessment, which covered the livestream part of the platform only, raised concerns about whether Visional Media had taken appropriate steps to protect under-18s from pornographic videos on Xpanded.

Specifically, we were concerned about whether:

1. Visional Media had taken such of the measures in Schedule 15A of the Act as are appropriate for the purpose of protecting users under the age of 18 from videos containing restricted material, specifically pornographic content; and/or
2. any such measures it had taken were being implemented in such a way as to carry out that purpose.

Visional Media’s commitments

In response to our concerns, Visional Media has made significant changes to its access control and age assurance measures. The measures introduced allow:

• Visional Media to obtain assurance as to the age of Xpanded’s users by requiring them – at the point of attempting to access the livestream part of the service, including private cam calls – to verify their age or sign into a registered account in respect of which their age has already been verified; and
• users to verify their age by one of four methods: submitting verifiable credit card details, allowing their age to be estimated by an age estimation tool, submitting valid identification, or a mobile network operator check.

Our response

Considering the steps taken by Visional Media to improve its access control and age assurance measures in response to our concerns, we have decided not to open a formal investigation into Visional Media’s compliance with its duties under Part 4B of the Communications Act 2003 at this time.

We particularly welcomed Visional Media’s willingness to swiftly make changes to its platform, as well as how quickly it was able to develop and share with us concrete plans for doing so. Visional Media has also consistently communicated well with us during the process with the effect of keeping us well-informed about when the changes it was making would be ready for implementation.

We will continue to monitor Visional Media to assess whether the changes it has introduced are working effectively, as part of our ongoing supervision of regulated services.

Our enforcement programme also remains open, and we continue to assess the measures that other UK-established platforms have taken to protect under-18s from pornographic material.