Pornhub, Stripchat, XNXX, XVideos Face EU Probes Over Child Protection Failures

The European Union's regulatory bodies have initiated formal investigations into four prominent adult content platforms: Pornhub, Stripchat, XNXX, and XVideos, over alleged failures to adhere to stringent online safety regulations aimed at safeguarding children. The probes, announced by EU regulators on Tuesday, could culminate in substantial financial penalties, potentially reaching up to 6% of the companies' global annual turnover.

The European Commission stated that these platforms had not complied with provisions of the Digital Services Act (DSA), a landmark EU law that came into effect in November 2022. The DSA imposes comprehensive obligations on online services, particularly those designated as "very large online platforms" (VLOPs), to actively combat illegal and harmful content. These four platforms were classified as VLOPs in 2023, a designation applied to services with over 45 million monthly active users in the EU.

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Specifically, the Commission highlighted alleged breaches of rules mandating companies to undertake thorough risk assessments and implement effective mitigation measures to address negative impacts on children's rights. A key area of concern cited by regulators was the inadequacy of age verification tools, which are crucial for preventing minors from accessing adult content.

Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, underscored the bloc's commitment to youth protection in a statement: "The online space should be a safe environment for children to learn and connect. Our priority is to protect minors and allow them to navigate safely online."

Aylo Freesites Ltd., the Cypriot entity that owns Pornhub, asserted that its platforms are compliant with "Restricted to Adults" (RTA) ratings from the Association of Sites Advocating Child Protection and are exclusively reserved for individuals of legal age. In a statement, Aylo proposed an alternative approach to age verification, suggesting that the onus should be on users' devices rather than individual websites. "We believe that the real solution for protecting minors and adults alike is to verify users’ ages at the point of access – the users’ devices – and for websites to deny or permit access to age-restricted materials based on that verification," the company stated in an email.

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Stripchat, a subsidiary of the Cypriot firm Technius Ltd., did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Similarly, XNXX, owned by the Czech company NKL Associates, and XVideos, part of WebGroup Czech Republic, could not be reached for comment.

In a separate development, the European Commission indicated its intention to revoke Stripchat's designation as a very large online platform within the next four months. This decision follows a decline in Stripchat's average monthly user numbers below the DSA's threshold for VLOP classification, which stands at 45 million monthly active users in the EU. While the VLOP designation will be removed, Stripchat will still be subject to the general obligations of the DSA, with supervision shifting to the Cypriot Digital Services Coordinator.

The EU executive also confirmed that member states would coordinate efforts against smaller pornographic platforms, thereby reinforcing the broader regulatory push to ensure child safety across the digital landscape. This coordinated action by national regulators, guided by the European Board for Digital Services, complements the Commission's direct investigations into the larger platforms. The Commission's in-depth investigations will involve further evidence gathering, including requests for information, interviews, and potential inspections, and may lead to interim measures or compliance decisions.