EU Commission attacking porn sites
The EU Commission and member states have launched attacks on porn sites saying the aim is to ensure a safer environment online for minors. The Commission has opened formal proceedings against Pornhub, Stripchat, XNXX, and XVideos for suspected breaches of the Digital Services Act (DSA) by not having appropriate measures to protect minors from adult content. Member States are via the European Board for Digital Services attaching smaller pornographic platforms.
Pornhub is Canadian-owned, Stripchat is Cypriot, XNXX is owned by a company based in Hong Kong and Xvideos is owned by a Czech company.
“These actions will reinforce the Commission’s effort to protect minors from harmful content online, both as regards very large adult platforms supervised by the Commission and smaller ones that fall under the supervision of the Digital Services Coordinators”, the Commission says in a statement.
The Commission’s investigations focus on the risks for the protection of minors, including those linked to the absence of effective age verification measures.
“Protecting young users online is one of the key enforcement priorities under the DSA. Online platforms must ensure that the rights and best interests of children are central to the design and functioning of their services. If proven, failure to comply with these requirements would constitute infringements of the DSA.”
“The opening of formal proceedings does not prejudge its outcome and is without prejudice to any other proceeding that the Commission may decide to initiate on any other conduct that may constitute an infringement under the DSA.”
The Commission will now carry out an in-depth investigation as a matter of priority and will continue to gather evidence, which can include sending additional requests for information, conducting interviews or inspections.
The Commission says that it in close collaboration with Member States is developing a white label age-verification app, intended to bridge the gap until the EU Digital Wallet becomes available by the end of 2026.
“The app, based on the same technology as the EU Digital Wallet, can be implemented by the Member States and then used by online service providers to verify if the user is over 18 without revealing further identity information, thus fully respecting their privacy. The app will be available by summer 2025.”
Moonshot News is an independent European news website for all IT, Media and Advertising professionals, powered by women and with a focus on driving the narrative for diversity, inclusion and gender equality in the industry.
Our mission is to provide top and unbiased information for all professionals and to make sure that women get their fair share of voice in the news and in the spotlight!
We produce original content, news articles, a curated calendar of industry events and a database of women IT, Media and Advertising associations.
