Digital Economy Act 2017

21 Notice by regulator to payment-services providers and ancillary service providers

(1) Where the age-verification regulator considers that a person (“the non-complying person”) is—

(a) contravening section 14(1); or

(b) making extreme pornographic material available on the internet to persons in the United Kingdom,

it may give notice of that fact to any payment-services provider or ancillary service provider.

(2) A notice under subsection (1) must—

(a) identify the non-complying person in such manner as the age-verification regulator considers appropriate;

(b) state whether it is subsection (1)(a) that applies or subsection (1)(b) or both;

(c) provide such further particulars as the age-verification regulator considers appropriate.

(3) When the age-verification regulator gives notice under this section, it must inform the non-complying person, by notice, that it has done so.

(4) In this section a “payment-services provider” means a person who appears to the age-verification regulator to provide services, in the course of a business, which enable funds to be transferred in connection with the payment by any person for access to pornographic material or extreme pornographic material made available on the internet by the non-complying person.

(5) In this section an “ancillary service provider” means a person, other than a payment-services provider, who appears to the age-verification regulator to—

(a) provide, in the course of a business, services which enable or facilitate the making available of pornographic material or extreme pornographic material on the internet by the non-complying person; or

(b) advertise, on or via any internet site operated by the non-complying person or via any other means of accessing the internet operated or provided by that person, any goods or services provided in the course of a business.

(6) For the purposes of subsection (5)(b), a means of accessing the internet does not include a device or other equipment for doing so.