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The European Commission has found the adult sites Pornhub, Stripchat, XNXX and XVideos fail to protect minors from pornographic content and might have breached European law.
Users of the websites rely on “a simple click” to confirm whether they are over 18, which the Commission said on Thursday is not an effective way to protect children from pornographic content.
Other measures, such as blurred pages or restricted labels, were also deemed insufficient. Euronews Next reached out to the platforms but did not receive an immediate reply.
The Commission launched its investigation last May under the Digital Services Act (DSA), the EU law governing online platforms. Its assessment drew on internal risk reports, data, and other documents from all four sites collected over the past year.
When risks were identified in these reports, the pornographic platforms focused on business concerns, such as reputational damage, instead of the dangers the sites might pose to young users.
The preliminary findings call on the platforms to implement a robust age verification system that will keep children off their sites. The sites are now able to respond to the decision in writing, outlining how they will comply.
The Commission could still issue a non-compliance decision, which could include a fine up to 6 per cent of the platform’s annual worldwide turnover.
National offices are also running a “coordinated action” against smaller pornographic platforms that do not comply with the DSA, the Commission said.