London - Playboy has been hit with a six-figure fine over its failure to stop children from viewing porn on its websites.
The adult entertainment company was found guilty of lacking sufficient controls to stop under-18s accessing explicit material.
Media regulator Ofcom said it issued the £100 000 (about R1.3 million) fine in an attempt to protect the “physical, mental or moral development” of youngsters.
The watchdog condemned the poor measures put in place to verify the age of users on the Demand Adult and Playboy TV websites. Under-18s were able to access stills and videos of a pornographic nature without registration and payment.
The payment system in use also came under fire for not being tough enough to filter out under-age viewers.
To access additional paid-for content users were allowed to use a debit card. But the regulator stressed that such sites should insist on credit cards, as these are available only to adults.
Demand Adult was fined £65 000 and Playboy TV website ordered to pay £35 000.
The Daily Mail has been highlighting the harmful effects of web pornography as part of its Block Online Porn campaign.
In December, the British prime minister finally threw his support behind plans for a system which would filter out adult material.
Parents would have to choose to have this lifted.
Vivienne Pattison, of Mediawatch UK, said: “I am really pleased Ofcom has taken it seriously and this is good news.” - Daily Mail