Investigation into MintStars Ltd compliance with rules to protect children from restricted material

Ofcom has today opened an investigation into the video sharing platform (VSP) provider, MintStars Ltd and its compliance with its statutory obligations under Part 4B of the Act.

Part 4B of the Act came into force on 1 November 2020 and sets out the statutory framework for the regulation of VSPs. In particular a person who provides a VSP service must, in relation to that service,

• take such of the measures set out in Schedule 15A of the Act as are appropriate for (among other things) the purpose of protecting persons under the age of 18 from videos containing restricted material, and
• implement such measures taken in such a way as to carry out the above purpose.

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.

Mintstars is a pre-existing notified VSP under Part 4B of the Act. Through Ofcom’s supervision of the service, we have carried out an initial assessment and have reason to believe that:

(a) Mintstars hosts material that would fall within the definition of Restricted Material and;

(b) MintStars Ltd may not have taken and/or implemented such of the measures set out in Schedule 15A of the Act in relation to the service as are appropriate for the purposes of protecting persons under the age of 18 from videos containing restricted material.

This investigation will examine these questions further to determine whether MintStars Ltd has contravened or is contravening section 368Z1 of the Act. We will gather further information and intend to publish an update on our investigation by the end of May 2024.