By Peter Berton

LONDON – Britain’s Authority for Television on Demand (ATVOD), the regulator in charge of policing UK video-on-demand websites, has fingered three adult sites for potentially allowing under-18s to access hardcore content.

ATVOD’s findings against the providers of online VOD services Studio66 TV, G Spot Productions and Abused Piggy brings to 17 the number of adult services successfully challenged by the regulator over the past 18 months, the regulator noted.

“All of them were operating in breach of a statutory rule which requires that material which might seriously impair under-18s can only be made available if access is blocked to children,” a prepared statement said.

ATVOD said ‘G Spot Productions’ allowed any visitor free, unrestricted access to hardcore pornographic promotional videos, and trailers and photos, and provided full access to anyone who paid for it without verifying the buyer’s age.

“As the service accepted payment methods such as debit cards, which can be used by under-18s, ATVOD ruled that the service had also failed to put in place effective access controls in relation to the full videos,” regulators noted.

Studio66 TV also was pinched for allowing full access to hardcore material to anyone who paid for it without verifying the buyer’s age. Meanwhile, Abused Piggy allowed “unrestricted, free-to-view access to a sample video featuring real sex in explicit detail, and to still images featuring real sex in explicit detail and strong fetish material.”

In each case, “ATVOD’s action resulted in [the] service taking rapid steps to bring to an end the breaches,” regulators said.

G Spot Productions removed explicit material from its free previews and required subscribers to prove their age using a credit card in order to sign up. Studio66 TV also instituted an age-verification payment system. Abused Piggy closed.

“We have made good progress in ensuring that UK websites comply with rules designed to protect children from such harmful content, and our recent enforcement activity has sent a clear message that UK providers of hardcore pornography on demand must take effective steps to ensure that such material is not accessible to under-18s,” said ATVOD Chief Executive Officer Pete Johnson. “Asking visitors to a website to click an ‘I am 18’ button or enter a date of birth or use a debit card is not sufficient. If they are going to offer explicit sex material, they must know that their customers are 18, just as they would in the offline world.”

ATVOD is a quasi-governmental organization responsible, with government agency Ofcom, for co-regulating video on demand services across all platforms in the UK. Although ATVOD is not empowered to levy fines against violators of broadcast codes, it frequently refers cases to Ofcom, which is empowered to levy fines.