Adult content platforms like Pornhub, Stripchat, XNXX, and XVideos are facing accusations of violating European Union regulations for allowing minors to access explicit material on their websites, according to EU regulators. This violation, discovered after a 10-month investigation under the Digital Services Act, mandates that large online platforms take more substantial actions to combat illegal and harmful content.
Henna Virkkunen, the EU tech chief, emphasized the importance of preventing children from accessing adult content at younger ages and urged these platforms to implement robust and privacy-conscious measures to safeguard minors from their services. If found guilty of breaching the Digital Services Act, these companies could face fines of up to six percent of their global annual revenue.
The European Commission, responsible for enforcing the act, criticized the companies for lacking comprehensive methodologies to evaluate the risks associated with minors accessing their platforms. The accused platforms, including Pornhub, Stripchat, XNXX, and XVideos, were singled out for prioritizing their reputations over societal concerns regarding minors.
The regulator also raised concerns about the ineffectiveness of self-declaration tools and other measures like page blurring and content warnings in preventing children from accessing adult content. To address these issues, the Commission mandated that these platforms must adopt privacy-preserving age verification measures to shield children from harmful material.
In a related development, Snapchat is under scrutiny as the EU executive commission has initiated a formal investigation under the Digital Services Act due to concerns about inadequate protection for children from potential risks, such as exposure to child predators and criminal recruitment. Despite Snapchat’s requirement for users to be at least 13 years old, the Commission doubted the efficacy of the platform’s “age assurance” system in restricting young users’ access adequately.
Snapchat responded by affirming its full cooperation with the Commission, emphasizing its commitment to meeting the DSA’s stringent safety standards and ensuring user safety remains a top priority throughout the investigation. This investigation comes in the wake of significant legal outcomes in the United States, where Meta and YouTube were held accountable in a social media addiction trial in Los Angeles, and Meta faced allegations of violating child safety laws in New Mexico.
