Adult content platforms like Pornhub, Stripchat, XNXX, and XVideos are facing allegations of violating European Union regulations by allowing minors to access explicit content on their websites, according to EU regulators. This breach of rules could result in significant fines, following a thorough 10-month investigation under the Digital Services Act of the EU that mandates large online platforms to take stronger actions against illegal and harmful content.
Henna Virkkunen, the EU tech chief, emphasized the need for these platforms to implement robust, privacy-preserving, and effective measures to prevent minors from accessing adult content at increasingly younger ages. Companies could potentially face fines amounting to six percent of their global annual turnover if found guilty of breaching the Digital Services Act.
The European Commission, responsible for enforcing the act, criticized the lack of objective and thorough methodologies employed by these companies to assess the risks associated with minors accessing their services. The Commission accused Pornhub, Stripchat, XNXX, and XVideos of prioritizing their reputations over addressing societal risks to minors.
Furthermore, the regulator raised concerns about the ineffectiveness of the companies’ self-declaration tools, such as age verification through a simple click, and measures like page blurring and content warnings in preventing children from accessing their platforms. The Commission emphasized the urgent need for these platforms to implement privacy-preserving age verification measures to safeguard children from harmful content.
In a separate development, the EU’s executive commission announced a formal investigation into Snapchat under the Digital Services Act due to concerns about insufficient measures to protect children from risks like increased vulnerability to child predators or recruitment by criminals. Although Snapchat requires users to be at least 13 years old, the Commission questioned the adequacy of the platform’s “age assurance” system in restricting young users.
Snapchat responded by stating its full cooperation with the Commission and commitment to meeting the DSA’s safety standards to ensure user safety remains a top priority. The EU’s scrutiny of Snapchat comes amid recent significant legal actions in the U.S., where Meta and YouTube were found liable in a landmark trial on social media addiction in Los Angeles, following a similar ruling in New Mexico against Meta for violating child safety laws.