Ofcom fines deepfake nudification site £55,000 for failing age verification
Ofcom fined Itai Tech Ltd £55,000 for failing to implement age verification safeguards on its deepfake nudification website, which allows users to create synthetic nude images. The company disabled access from UK addresses during the investigation and applied to strike itself off the UK register.
What happened
Ofcom investigated Itai Tech Ltd, which provides AI tools allowing users to edit images to seemingly remove someone's clothing. The regulator found the company failed to put in age verification measures required under online safety laws.
Ofcom fined the company £50,000 for its age check failings, plus an additional £5,000 for not responding to information requests. The site became inaccessible from UK IP addresses shortly after the investigation started in May.
Reported impact
The fine was intended to protect children from harmful pornographic content. Ofcom stated it is the regulator's second fine imposed under the Online Safety Act, which requires pornographic websites to verify users are over 18.
Governance controls
Ofcom said its fine accounted for the company's decision to make its site unavailable to UK users. Documents on Companies House show Itai Tech Ltd recently applied to strike itself off the UK register of companies.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.