The Authority for Television On Demand (ATVOD) has said online video on demand service Bootybox.tv was in breach of statutory rules requiring video on demand providers to ensure that under 18s cannot normally access hardcore pornographic content.
Rules require material that might seriously impair under 18s can only be made available if access is blocked to children. according to the regulator, the content shown by Bootybox was equivalent to that which could only be sold in licensed sex shops if supplied on DVD.
ATVOD, which is increasingly showing its teeth as a regulator, was responding to a complaint from a concerned father who discovered his son had visited the site.
Investigations found a website that offered unrestricted access to a selection of hardcore videos and used payment mechanisms – such as debit cards and prepaid vouchers – that could be used by under 18s.
ATVOD followed up its ruling with an Enforcement Notification, requiring the provider of Bootybox.tv to either remove the hardcore porn content from the service or put it all behind effective access controls which will ensure that only adults can see it. However, the service has now ceased operating.
