The European Union on Tuesday announced it opened of an investigation into the pornography platforms Pornhub, Stripchat, XNXX and XVideos, on suspicion of not taking sufficient measures to prevent minors from accessing their content.
As part of the new legislation on digital services (DSA), the European Commission is highlighting the lack of “appropriate” tools for verifying the age of users and protecting minors from adult content.
Users can access these platforms with a simple click to confirm that they are at least 18 years old, without any further verification.
The investigation could result in heavy financial penalties in the event of proven infringements.
“Our priority is to protect minors and enable them to surf online safely,” stressed European Commissioner Henna Virkkunen, who is responsible for technological sovereignty and the implementation of the DSA. “We are determined to tackle everything that can harm young users online.”
Contacted by AFP, Luxembourg parent of Pornhub, Aylo, said it was “fully committed to ensuring the safety of minors online” with sites “strictly reserved for people of legal age.”
But the porn giant believes “that the real solution to protecting minors and adults is to verify the age of users at the point of access – the users’ devices.”
Back in July, the Luxembourg-based porn company appealed to the European Court of Justice to stop it from being forced to reveal its advertisers under new EU regulations.
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Nearly 40% of children
With more than 45 million European users per month each, Pornhub, XNXX and XVideos are among the major platforms subject to the strengthened DSA rules, together with X (formerly Twitter), TikTok, Google and Facebook (Meta).
On Tuesday, the commission stated that Stripchat would be removed from this list, as it did not reach the threshold of 45 million users. However, this change in the platform’s status will take several months, and the stricter DSA rules may apply in the meantime.
The DSA obliges the biggest platforms to do more to protect European users online and lays down strict rules to protect children and guarantee their privacy and safety. They must also assess and mitigate the risks associated with the use of their services.
On this last point, the commission believes that the four pornographic sites have not taken sufficient measures to avoid “any negative impact on children’s rights and the mental and physical well-being of users.”
The commission also indicated that it would work with national authorities to ensure that smaller porn platforms apply the same rules.
Also read:Not Luxembourg’s job to enforce French porn-control law, officials say
Luxembourg’s own media regulator, Alia, launched an investigation earlier this year to determine whether platform LiveJasmin complies with the country’s child protection rules. Officials stressed this was a matter of national and EU regulatory jurisdiction, not bilateral enforcement.
“Although not illegal, content such as pornography and violence is considered to be the most harmful to the development of minors and must therefore be strictly reserved for an adult audience,” Alia noted on its website.
In France, according to a study by the national audiovisual regulator Arcom, carried out in the first half of 2024, almost 40% of children access pornographic websites every month.
The DSA, which has a broad remit, is part of the European Union’s powerful legal arsenal for regulating major technology companies.
Since 2023, Brussels has launched a wave of investigations under this framework, including into Meta’s Facebook and Instagram sites, as well as social networks X and TikTok.
Infringements, if proven, are punishable by fines of up to 6% of the worldwide turnover of the company concerned. Platforms found guilty of serious and repeated infringements may also be banned from operating in Europe.
(This article was first published by AFP. Translated using AI, editing, and adaptation by Lucrezia Reale. With additional reporting by Emery P. Dalesio)