John "Gozzy" Godsland
Is this headline misleading? I don't think Ofcom have fined anyone. They've waved a piece of paper at an overseas corporation run by people they don't know, and who ignore any attempt at communication. Herein lies one of many fundamental issues with the Online "Safety" Act. #OSA
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0mglnzprdyo
Porn company fined £1.35m by Ofcom over age verification failings

Ofcom's £1.35m fine on 8579 LLC is the largest it has levied under the Online Safety Act so far.

BBC News
Feb 23 at 9:30pmWeb
Show threadJdeBP1d ago

@john

Here's the official record:

https://www.ofcom.org.uk/online-safety/protecting-children/investigation-into-8579-llcs-compliance-with-the-duty-to-prevent-children-from-encountering-pornographic-content-through-the-use-of-age-assurance

I initially thought that surely #OfCom had actually served these things on an officer of the company.

It took some digging, but it appears that 8579 LLC is an anonymized #SantaFe #NewMexico company whose correspondence address appears to be one of those places that provides a corporate address as a service to lots of companies, several of which seem shady on their faces.

So likely OfCom has not.

#8579 #OnlineSafetyAct #UKLaw

Show threadJohn "Gozzy" Godsland1d ago
@JdeBP Thanks for the information. It's as I thought, they still have no idea who the company officers are and there is no realistic way for them to find out. They could try going to court in the US but are likely to be rejected simply because they have no jurisdiction.
Show threadRet1d ago

@john I complained to the BBC about this. The article should make clear that this company has not (nor has, as far as I am aware, any foreign company) paid any "fines" demanded by Ofcom under the Online Safety Act.

Failing to make this clear misleads the public into thinking that the legislation is working, when in fact it isn't.

Show threadJohn "Gozzy" Godsland1d ago
@ret Good to hear, did the BBC respond? It's highly misleading and as you say, it creates a false narrative around the efficacy of the OSA. We need media to highlight the failings.
Show threadRet1d ago
@john I only complained yesterday evening. I will update if I get a response.