Rhys MorganSony PlayStation notified UK and Ireland users on 21 April 2026 that they must verify their age by June 2026 or lose access to social features including voice chat, messaging, and online parties on PS5. The move is a direct response to the UK Online Safety Act 2023, which came into force on 25 July 2025 and is now actively being enforced by Ofcom.
What PlayStation Is Actually Requiring — and Why
From June 2026, PlayStation Network users in the UK who do not complete age verification will have certain features restricted. Core gameplay, access to the PlayStation Store, and trophy tracking are unaffected. What changes are the social interaction features: online voice parties, direct messaging between accounts, and community spaces where user-generated content is shared.
Sony has partnered with Yoti, a digital identity verification service, to handle the process. Users can verify via a selfie-based facial age estimation, a mobile phone number cross-referenced with carrier data, or submission of a government-issued document such as a driving licence or passport.
Critically, Yoti states that it does not store biometric data after the verification check is complete. The verification result — simply whether a user is over or under 18 — is passed to PlayStation, not the underlying data used to reach that conclusion.
The Online Safety Act: What It Requires of Platforms
The Online Safety Act 2023 places a legal duty on online services to protect users from harm, with particular emphasis on children. Platforms are required to conduct Children's Risk Assessments and implement age assurance measures proportionate to the level of risk their service poses.
Ofcom, the UK's communications regulator, has been enforcing the Act since July 2025. As of February 2026, more than 90 platforms are under active investigation, with six fines already issued — including £800,000 against Kick Online Entertainment and £1 million against an adult website operator.
Non-compliance can result in fines of up to 10% of global qualifying revenue. For a company the size of Sony, this is a significant financial incentive to act. The PlayStation announcement follows a similar move by Apple, which rolled out age verification for UK users in March 2026.
What This Means for Parents and Families
The age check affects accounts registered as under 18 on PlayStation Network, but it also applies to adult accounts to ensure the platform can distinguish between age groups for content moderation purposes.
For parents, this raises practical questions:
- If your child's account was created with incorrect age data, they may now face stricter access restrictions during the verification process.
- If you share an account with a child, the age on that account will determine which content and features are available.
- If your child's account is linked to your payment method, you retain parental oversight controls through PlayStation's Family Management tools, which allow you to set spending limits and content ratings.
The platform's Family Management system predates the Online Safety Act but is now integrated into the broader compliance framework. Parents managing children's accounts can set PIN-protected controls at family.playstation.com.
The IT and Legal Compliance Challenge for Businesses
For IT managers, platform operators, and businesses building consumer-facing digital services, the PlayStation announcement is a practical case study in compliance at scale.
The Online Safety Act does not only apply to gaming platforms. Any online service providing user-to-user interaction, pornographic content, or content that could harm children must implement age assurance. This includes social platforms, forums, dating services, and any subscription service accessible to minors.
Businesses that have not yet conducted their Children's Risk Assessment — a mandatory step under Ofcom's guidance — should treat the PlayStation rollout as a signal that enforcement is accelerating. The Online Safety Act 2023 sets out the full framework, including which categories of service are in scope and how proportionality is assessed.
IT specialists and legal advisers are increasingly being called upon to help businesses navigate the technical and regulatory aspects of compliance. Age verification systems must be robust, privacy-preserving, and proportionate — three criteria that often pull in different directions.
The GTA 6 Age Verification rollout for UK players raised similar data privacy questions about what happens to verification data. The key question for any platform is not just whether to verify, but how to do so without creating new privacy risks.
Who to Call When Compliance Gets Complex
If your organisation provides any form of online interaction — including B2B platforms, employee tools with social features, or consumer-facing apps — the Online Safety Act may apply to you. The rules are not limited to platforms serving children: the duty of care extends to protecting adults from illegal content as well.
An IT security specialist can assess your current infrastructure and identify where age assurance mechanisms need to be introduced. A technology lawyer can advise on your specific regulatory obligations and help you prepare for Ofcom engagement.
Key questions to address now:
- Has your organisation designated a named person responsible for Online Safety Act compliance?
- Have you completed a Children's Risk Assessment and documented it?
- Does your age verification method meet Ofcom's proportionality test?
- Are you retaining any personal data from the verification process, and if so, under what legal basis?
Ofcom has made clear that investigations will expand through 2026. With 90 platforms already under scrutiny and fines already issued, the PS5 age check announcement is not an isolated gaming story — it is a signal of where digital regulation in the UK is heading.
This article is for informational purposes only. If your organisation needs to assess Online Safety Act compliance, consult a qualified IT specialist or technology solicitor.
