Internet Law Centre

A UK internet law firm with a dedicated adult website practice

Internet Law Centre is the web presence of Cohen Davis Solicitors, an internet and social media law firm. The firm describes itself as the oldest dedicated internet law firm in the UK. For site operators it runs an adult website lawyers section, aimed at people who are setting up an adult website or an adults-only platform, and at existing sites that have received a letter from Ofcom. The firm says it has supported dozens of clients through the process of setting up adult websites and adults-only platforms, and that it has provided legal support to clients in the adult industry for nearly 20 years.

The adult practice sits inside a wider firm. The same site covers defamation, online harassment, privacy, disclosure orders, domain name disputes and influencer work, much of it written for individuals. For an operator the relevant part is the adult website lawyers guide, updated 5 October 2026, and its companion article on age verification, updated 1 October 2026, both written by senior partner Yair Cohen. The companion article addresses studios, producers and creators who publish content on their own site, and platforms where users upload it, such as tube sites, fan platforms and forums.

What the firm sells an adult operator

The firm's own summary of the work is to help sites work out whether the Online Safety Act applies to them, choose an age check that fits the business, put the policy and the records in place, and deal with Ofcom when it writes. Around that core the pages list the documents an adult website may need, and say that not all of them are necessary for every type of site.

The document list is specific. It names a model agreement, which the firm describes as the contract between the website owner and the models who provide content, covering payment terms, content ownership, confidentiality and release of liability. An agent agreement is listed for operators who work with agents that represent models or source talent, setting commission rates, payment terms and each side's duties. The list continues with terms of use, a privacy policy, data protection and data request processes covering breaches, access requests and erasure requests, a website acceptable use policy, a cookies policy and rules of conduct for models. It also names an identification and age verification policy, intellectual property statements and agreements, and health and safety and ethical policies. Related guides cover terms and conditions for adult platforms and whether a performer's release form can be challenged.

The age verification policy is the one the firm singles out. It describes the document as recording which check the site uses, how that check is applied before any pornographic content is shown, and how the operator keeps the evidence Ofcom can ask for. The firm calls it the document Ofcom will want to see first.

Beyond documents, the guide lists hands-on advice on business structure, licensing and permits, content policies, international regulation for sites that operate in several countries, and advertising and marketing. It also covers payment processing, where the firm says it helps operators understand their options and assists in negotiating agreements with payment processors, and record keeping, such as age verification documentation and model release forms, plus ongoing support as a platform grows. For a site that has heard from Ofcom, the age verification article says the firm reviews the site as the regulator would see it, helps choose and set up a check, checks the contract with the provider, puts the written record and public statement in place, and drafts the reply.

The regulatory position as the firm explains it

In the firm's account, the duty to check that users are over 18 before they see pornographic content has applied since 17 January 2025 to sites that publish their own content, and since 25 July 2025 to sites where users upload it, under the Online Safety Act 2023. The guide says the Act applies wherever the company is based if the site has links with the UK, meaning a significant number of UK users or the UK as one of its target markets.

The guide lists the methods Ofcom's guidance names as capable of counting: photo ID matching, facial age estimation, open banking, a check with the user's mobile network, a credit card check, a digital identity service and email-based age estimation. It states that a tick box or date-of-birth field does not count, and neither does an ordinary card payment. It also says the check has to sit in front of previews, thumbnails and free samples, not only in front of full videos, and that the duty covers pictures, video and sound, including content an AI tool on the site generates, while text on its own is outside it.

On records, the article says a site that publishes its own content keeps a written record of the check it uses and how, publishes a plain summary of it for users, and shows how users' privacy was taken into account in choosing the method. The guide says most sites use a third-party age check provider and that the legal duty stays with the site owner, so the provider contract and the testing done before switching it on matter. For sites with user uploads, it describes an access assessment for under-18 users that must be repeated at least once a year and before a significant change, including a change of age check method. It adds that an age check decides who can see content and does not make the content itself lawful, and that blocking UK visitors does not undo a breach that happened before the block.

Enforcement figures the guide quotes

As the guide read in October 2026 describes it, the maximum penalty is "£18 million or 10 per cent of worldwide revenue, whichever is greater", and Ofcom can ask a court for orders aimed at payment providers, advertisers and UK internet providers. Its FAQ says fines in 2025 and 2026 have ranged from £50,000 to £1.35 million, and that extra penalties of up to £100,000 have been added for not answering Ofcom's questions properly. The firm presents these as the reason to reply to an information request in full and by the deadline, with a dated plan where the site is not yet in order. The age verification article adds that, for most adult businesses, losing the payment provider is the bigger threat than the fine.

Fees and the consultation guarantee

The adult guide offers a free call to book a consultation. The firm's consultation FAQ, read in October 2026, puts the initial consultation at £469 inclusive of VAT, in person, by video or by telephone, typically lasting 60-90 minutes and continuing without extra charge if it runs longer, followed by a written advice letter. It is backed by what the firm calls a Full Satisfaction Money Back Guarantee: a client who did not feel the firm added at least £469 worth of value can ask for the money back. The FAQ attaches one condition: a client who takes the refund should not expect the firm to accept instructions from them again. Further work is priced after the consultation, with a fixed fee offered where possible. The adult pages publish no separate price for an age check review or a document pack.

Getting started

Contact is by a freephone number, an international number for callers outside the UK, a web form with an issue selector, or an email helpline. The form asks for a name, email, telephone and the issue, and offers a preferred contact time, including an urgent option. Consultations run over Microsoft Teams as well as in person, and the FAQ says most evenings include at least one Teams slot between 19:00 and 21:00, with flexible hours for overseas callers. Clients can send links and evidence in advance so the lawyer can prepare. The firm says that where a matter is unlikely to be resolved from a legal point of view, it will say so. It also describes a secure project management app, using SSL security, through which lawyers and clients can follow the work from a computer, tablet or phone.

The firm and its people

Cohen Davis Solicitors states that it has handled cases in internet defamation, online harassment and trade marks for over 20 years, and the FAQ refers to over 25 years of experience across its lawyers. The about page presents senior partner Yair Cohen, supported by senior and associate solicitors, a consultant solicitor, solicitor apprentices and a practice manager. It describes specialist tools for handling very large volumes of web links, pages and social media posts. The age verification article also recounts a matter in which the firm challenged the release agreements a performer had signed with four production companies in the UK and abroad, a view from the performer side of the contracts operators draft.

Who it suits

The firm fits an operator whose first need is UK regulatory exposure: a site that has had a letter from Ofcom, a tube or studio weighing which age check to adopt, a creator who sells from a personal site, or a start-up that wants its performer agreements, acceptable use policy and privacy documents drawn up together. Operators running user-upload platforms get the annual access assessment alongside the age check record, and sites with a data protection angle get the data request process on the same list.

The caveats are plain: the practice is a UK solicitors' firm giving UK law advice, and the adult section is one practice area beside the firm's defamation, harassment and privacy work. For an operator who wants a lawyer that has written down how the age check, the written record and the Ofcom reply fit together, with a fixed first-consultation price and a stated money back guarantee, the firm's published guidance is detailed and specific.