UK internet censor Ofcom has provided a statement outlining progress in blocking 14 unnamed websites that it classes as 'small but risky' services. 7 have self blocked all UK users, 2 have introduced ID/age verification, 3 have refused to communicate.
Ofcom writes:
Ofcom's Small but Risky Services Compliance Taskforce is a dedicated team focused on identifying and driving compliance from regulated services with small userbases that pose a disproportionate risk of serious harm
to UK users.
On 24 July 2025, Ofcom launched an enforcement programme focussing on services whose principal purpose is the hosting or dissemination of Primary Priority Content or Priority Content, to ensure such services used
highly effective age assurance to prevent children from accessing the service. Since then, the Compliance Taskforce has monitored and carried out active engagement with providers of 14 services that represent a significant risk of harm to children from
the harmful content they host or disseminate. Today we are providing an update on progress.
Geo-blocks implemented:
Following proactive engagement by the Compliance Taskforce, seven of the identified
services, each of which were dedicated to hosting particularly harmful types of content - including suicide and self-harm content, violent and graphic content, and eating disorder content - have geo-blocked the UK and are no longer accessible to UK users
(including children) as at the date of this update. This includes five services dedicated to hosting graphic violence and serious injury content, and two dedicated to hosting suicide content.
Warning letters:
Providers of three identified services who failed to engage have been sent warning letters from Ofcoms Enforcement team. These notify them of their requirements under Section 12 of the Act to prevent and protect children from
encountering content which is harmful to them on their service, including through the use of highly effective age assurance. We continue to assess whether additional action is required and will take into account their response in considering our options.
Highly effective age assurance implemented:
Two high profile services identified by the Compliance Taskforce, dedicated to hosting graphic violence and serious injury content, have implemented highly
effective age assurance to prevent access by UK children following engagement.
Next steps:
The work under this enforcement programme has been coordinated across Ofcoms Supervision and Enforcement
teams. It has so far demonstrated that seeking voluntary engagement from services is often the most rapid way to protect users. Particularly in cases involving smaller services that may not have a wide reach but that represent a significant risk of harm
by hosting or promoting content that is particularly harmful to children.
We have made good progress with the majority of services we have engaged with so far. Going forward, we will continue to prioritise active engagement with
services that pose the highest risk of harm to children.
Where service providers do not engage or fail to comply with their duties under the Act, including those in Section 12, we will not hesitate to move to formal enforcement
action.
We will provide further updates on the work of the Compliance Taskforce in due course.
