Assessment of: Kiwi Leisure Ltd, with respect to its platform AdmireMe
Completion date: 18 December 2023
Summary: 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 to protect under-18s from accessing pornographic content. We have assessed the measures that platforms have in place to understand the age of their users and prevent under-18s from watching pornographic videos.
Our analysis of AdmireMe raised concerns that its measures were not effectively protecting underage users from pornographic content. Following a period of close engagement with Kiwi Leisure, where we set out its obligations under the VSP regime, it has committed to making some important changes to protect under-18s from pornographic content on the AdmireMe platform.
Relevant legal provisions: Part 4B of the Communications Act 2003
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.
On 10 January 2023, we opened an enforcement programme to look at whether UK-established VSPs that specialise in adult content have appropriate age assurance measures in place to protect under-18s from accessing pornographic content, as required under the VSP regime. We assessed the measures taken by platforms to understand 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 implementing age assurance measures.
Our concerns
Our assessment of AdmireMe raised concerns about whether Kiwi Leisure had taken appropriate measures to protect under-18s from pornographic videos on its platform.
Specifically, we were concerned about whether:
- Kiwi Leisure 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
- any such measures it had taken were being implemented in such a way as to carry out that purpose.
Kiwi Leisure’s commitments
In response to our concerns, Kiwi Leisure has committed to making significant changes to its access control and age assurance measures.
The changes (which we understand will be introduced shortly) will allow Kiwi Leisure to obtain assurance as to the age of AdmireMe’s users by requiring them – when seeking to view video content or subscribe to a Models’ content – to verify their age or sign into a registered account in respect of which their age has already been verified.
Kiwi Leisure will also allow users to verify their age by:
- using a credit card to pay; or
- allowing their age to be estimated by a third-party age estimation tool. If users are estimated to be under 21 years of age, they will have to submit valid identification to a third-party automated age verification tool.
Under Kiwi Leisure’s new process, Models’ profile pictures (which include both stills and GIFs) will still be viewable by unverified users. However, Kiwi Leisure has told us that AdmireMe’s internal policies do not permit nudity or pornographic content on this section of the site.
Our response
Considering Kiwi Leisure’s willingness to improve its systems and processes to directly address our concerns within a short timeframe, and our desire to work with platform providers to protect their users, we have decided not to open an investigation into Kiwi Leisure’s compliance with its duties under Part 4B of the Communications Act 2003.
We welcome the open and constructive engagement we have had during this period, and in particular the willingness that Kiwi Leisure has shown to adapt its approach to ensure any new measures it introduces are sufficiently robust. We expect Kiwi Leisure to implement its new measures and the internal policies it has told us it already has in place, in such a way as to protect under-18s from accessing restricted material (including pornography) on its platform.
We will continue to monitor Kiwi Leisure to ensure these improvements are made within the timeframe it has committed to and expect for them to be fully implemented on the platform by the end of January 2024. Thereafter, we will continue to monitor Kiwi Leisure 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. We have published an update to the programme today.