Ofcom has today launched two investigations into whether Kick Online Entertainment S.A has failed to comply with its duties under the UK’s Online Safety Act.
Duties under the Act
Providers of services in scope of the Act are required to assess the risk of people in the UK encountering illegal content on their service, and take appropriate steps to protect them from it.
Providers are also required to respond to all statutory information requests from Ofcom in an accurate, complete and timely way.
Enforcing the Act
On 3 March 2025, we opened an enforcement programme to monitor whether providers are complying with their duties under the Act to carry out an illegal content risk assessment and keep appropriate records of their assessments.
As part of this programme, we issued an information request to Kick Online Entertainment S.A, which is responsible for providing the pornography website Motherless.com.[1] We required it to submit the record of its illegal content risk assessment to us so we could consider whether it is compliant with its duties.
Having received no response to our request, we have today launched investigations into whether this provider has failed in its duties to:
- complete – and keep a record of – a suitable and sufficient illegal content risk assessment and;
- respond to a statutory information request.
We have received complaints about the potential for illegal content and activity on this site, including child sexual abuse material and extreme pornography. In light of this, we will also be considering whether the provider has put appropriate safety measures in place to protect its UK users from illegal content and activity and may launch an additional investigation into its compliance with this duty if appropriate.
What happens next
UK law sets out the process Ofcom must follow when investigating a provider and deciding whether it has failed to comply with its legal obligations.
We will now gather and analyse evidence to determine whether a contravention has occurred. If our assessment indicates a compliance failure, we will issue a provisional notice of contravention to the provider, who can then make representations on our findings, before we make our final decision.
We will provide regular updates as these investigations progress.
Enforcement powers
Where we identify compliance failures, we can require platforms to take specific measures to come into compliance. We can also impose fines of up to £18m or 10% of qualifying worldwide revenue, whichever is greater.
Where appropriate, in the most serious cases we can also seek a court order for ‘business disruption measures’, such as requiring payment providers or advertisers to withdraw their services from a platform, or requiring Internet Service Providers to block access to a site in the UK.
Other ongoing enforcement activity
Last month, we opened an enforcement programme into child sexual abuse imagery on file-sharing services, and launched an investigation into an online suicide forum.
In January, we opened an enforcement programme into age assurance measures in the adult sector, and last week we launched investigations into two pornographic services.
We expect to make additional announcements on formal enforcement action over the coming months, particularly with further duties coming into force under the Act.
End
Notes to Editors:
1. Where possible, we identify the subjects of our investigations for transparency, but we would caution that we have received complaints about the potential for illegal content and activity on this platform, including child sexual abuse material and extreme pornography.