European Commission age assurance investigation targets major porn sites

While the UK’s Ofcom dips a few toes into the waters of regulatory enforcement for age assurance laws, the European Commission is wasting no time in diving right into the biggest, filthiest reservoirs. A release says the Commission has opened formal proceedings against Pornhub, Stripchat, XNXX and XVideos for suspected breaches of the Digital Services Act (DSA).

These sites are among the largest and most popular repositories of pornographic content on the web – so-called Very Large Online Platforms, or VLOPs. The Commission says it “preliminarily found that the platforms do not comply with putting in place appropriate and proportionate measures to ensure a high level of privacy, safety and security for minors, in particular with age verification tools to safeguard minors from adult content.”

It also noted a lack of “risk assessment and mitigation measures of any negative effects on the rights of the child, the mental and physical well-being of users, and to prevent minors from accessing adult content, notably via appropriate age verification tools.”

In short, none of the big porn sites have effective age assurance technology in place. This suggests that porn providers are, for now,  largely opting to test noncompliance in order to see where the hammer falls, then, in all likelihood, contest rulings in court. That makes the likelihood of a mass rush to purchase age assurance tech lower – at least until the Commission starts doling out fines.

However, porn providers are defintely beginning to feel the pressure.

XVideos says it wouldn’t survive age assurance at the site level

In comments made to MLex, XVideos says “implementing site-level age verification would immediately destroy our platform.” It says that data shows 90 percent of users would move to search engines and social media, or simply to other adult content platforms.

“We would be sacrificed for a measure that cannot work,” XVideos says.

It is aligned with many other porn platforms and social media sites in advocating for parental controls at the device level.

“The only solution has been available all along: device-level parental control that can block an unlimited number of sites and poses zero risk to privacy,” it says. “Had the same energy been devoted to promoting and refining these tools instead of dismantling legitimate platforms, the problem would already be largely solved.”

XVideos is registered to Czech company WGCZ Holding. According to Wikipedia, it is the second-most visited adult website in the world after Pornhub.

Stripchat audience not large enough to qualify it as VLOP

Stripchat, at least, has one less thing to worry about; in parallel with the announcement of its investigations, the Commission confirmed the “termination of the designation of Stripchat as a Very Large Online Platform, following a request by Stripchat and an assessment by the Commission which concluded that Stripchat’s number of average monthly active recipients in the EU had been lower than the relevant threshold for an uninterrupted period of one year.”

Stripchat is to be reassessed in four months; in the meantime, “general obligations, including the obligation to ensure a high level of protection of minors on its service, will continue to apply to Stripchat.”

All’s fair in law and porn: smaller sites also face judgment

While the Commission’s action swings at Big Porn, the DSA has no exception for mom-and-pop smut peddlers. EC Member states are also “taking a coordinated action against smaller pornographic platforms,” which “complements the Commission’s opening of proceedings against the very large adult-content platforms and ensures that the DSA is applied consistently across the EU.”

The working group of Digital Services Coordinators (DSCs) tasked with investigating non-VLOP porn sites will exchange knowledge on enforcement approaches, methodologies and best practices, “particularly in identifying pornographic platforms and evaluating existing age verification measures on those platforms.”

If the DSCs’ find “sufficient indications” of a possible breach of the DSA, they can investigate and enforce laws, including through sanctions and fines.

“The online space should be a safe environment for children to learn and connect,” says Henna Virkkunen, executive vice-president for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy for the EC. “Our priority is to protect minors and allow them to navigate safely online. Together with the Digital Service Coordinators in the Member States we are determined to tackle any potential harm to young online users.”

From here, the Commission will conduct interviews and gather evidence. “The opening of formal proceedings empowers the Commission to take further enforcement steps, such as adopting interim measures and non-compliance decisions,” it says. It can also accept commitments from Pornhub, Stripchat, XNXX and XVideos on requested changes.

Like the UK, the EU is exploring its own age assurance product to bridge the gap until the EU Wallet becomes mandatory by the end of 2026: a white label age-verification app for member states is set to be available by summer 2025.

Article Topics

age verification  |  biometrics  |  Digital Services Act  |  EU age verification  |  Europe  |  European Commission