EU probes online porn giants over insufficient protection of minors

Brussels – Insufficient measures in terms of personal data protection, safeguarding and protecting minors, and mitigating mental health risks: for all these shortcomings, the European Commission opened proceedings against the online porn giants. Pornhub, Stripchat, XNXX, and XVideos end up in the crosshairs of the EU executive for non-compliance and violation of the Digital Services Act (DSA). The adult portals were considered “large platforms” (i.e., with 45 million users per month, Ed.) and, since December 2023, subject to monitoring. Now, the von der Leyen team says “enough” and is going on the offensive.

“The online space should be a safe environment for children to learn and connect,” is the premise of Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice President for Technology Sovereignty, Security, and Democracy. “Our priority is to protect minors and allow them to navigate safely online.” However, according to the findings of the European Commission’s services, this is not possible at this stage.

The  EU raised two objections against all pornographic platforms: first, it “preliminarily” found a lack of “appropriate and proportionate measures” to ensure a high level of privacy, safety, and security for minors, in particular with age verification tools to safeguard minors from adult content. “Minors should not have access to pornographic content,” Virkkunen points out, yet it is believed that not enough is being done to prevent this from happening. Secondly, they do not have risk assessment and mitigation measures for adverse effects on the rights of the child and the mental and physical well-being of users.