The European Commission has launched investigations into popular porn platforms, including Pornhub, Stripchat, XNXX, and XVideos, over concerns regarding lapses in protecting minors. The inquiries will focus on the platforms' age verification measures designed to prevent access to adult content by minors, as well as evaluating how they assess and mitigate risks related to children's rights and user well-being.
A Commission official stated that the current system of self-declaration is deemed ineffective, revealing that the requested information from the platforms indicates a lack of an effective age verification system. Violations of the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA) can result in substantial fines, reaching up to 6% of a company's annual global turnover, and there is no time limit for the investigations to conclude.
These probes come as the issue of online protection for minors rises to the forefront of the EU agenda, with member countries and the Commission prioritizing this concern. The scope of the investigations may also increase, as indicated by a second Commission official who mentioned that future proceedings could expand to include other DSA-related issues, such as illegal content or advertising repositories.
In parallel, national authorities will collaborate to oversee compliance among smaller pornographic platforms with EU digital rules under the Digital Services Board. This collaboration will allow local authorities to initiate investigations and exert pressure on these smaller platforms to ensure adherence to regulations.
Additionally, the Commission has rescinded the designation of Stripchat as a very large online platform (VLOP) after the platform reported user numbers below the 45 million threshold. VLOPs, including Pornhub, XVideos, and XNXX, are subject to stricter rules under the DSA.
