Brussels targets big porn platforms over child safety concerns

The EU has accused some of the world’s biggest adult content websites of failing to protect children from exposure to pornographic content, in a move that sharpens Brussels’ campaign to shield young people from harmful material online.

The European Commission on Thursday said that four sites — Pornhub, Stripchat, XNXX and XVideos — have not adequately assessed the risks that their platforms posed to minors.

The bloc’s executive arm also said the sites had failed to implement effective measures to prevent under-18s from accessing their services.

“In the EU, online platforms have a responsibility,” said Henna Virkkunen, the EU’s tech chief. “Children are accessing adult content at increasingly younger ages and these platforms must put in place robust, privacy-preserving and effective measures to keep minors off their services.”

Europe’s Digital Services Act (DSA) is intended to force large online platforms to police their platforms more aggressively. Companies found in breach of the digital rules could face penalties of up to 6 per cent of their global annual turnover. So far, Brussels has only issued a fine against social media platform X.

While the privately owned porn groups do not reveal their recent financial performance, any fine could run into the millions of dollars. It has been reported that Aylo, owner of Pornhub, made more than $450mn in revenue in 2022.

The preliminary findings are the result of an investigation that began in May last year and ran in parallel with a crackdown by EU member states on smaller pornographic platforms to ensure uniform enforcement across the EU.

Global regulators have been struggling to police so-called user-generated platforms, which rely on individuals to post content and have been criticised for harbouring harmful and illegal material.

The investigation into the porn platforms comes amid a broader push from the EU to protect minors online, for example by developing an EU-wide age-verification app that will allow platforms to confirm a user is over 18. Several EU countries are also considering or implementing social media bans for minors.

Pornhub, Stripchat, XNXX and XVideos did not immediately respond to requests for comment.