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European Commission Investigates Adult Sites Over DSA Non-Compliance

By  |  May 27, 2025

European Union (EU) regulators have launched formal investigations into four major adult content websites — Pornhub, Stripchat, XNXX, and XVideos — over alleged violations of the Digital Services Act (DSA), citing failures to adequately protect minors from accessing inappropriate material.

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    According to Reuters, the European Commission announced Tuesday that the sites may face penalties of up to 6% of their global annual turnover. The action stems from the platforms’ designation as “very large online platforms” (VLOPs) in 2023, which placed them under stricter obligations to monitor and prevent harmful and illegal content online.

    Per Reuters, the Commission asserted that the platforms failed to implement sufficient risk assessment and mitigation strategies to safeguard children’s rights. This includes inadequate age verification measures that allow minors potential access to explicit content. The EU’s DSA mandates that VLOPs establish robust mechanisms to prevent such breaches.

    EU technology chief Henna Virkkunen emphasized the urgency of the matter, stating, “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 company behind Pornhub, defended its compliance record, stating its sites carry the RTA (Restricted to Adults) label issued by the Association of Sites Advocating Child Protection. In a response cited by Reuters, Aylo said, “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.”

    Stripchat, which operates under Cypriot firm Technius Ltd, did not provide a response to Reuters‘ request for comment. Czech-based NKL Associates, the owner of XNXX, and WebGroup Czech Republic, which runs XVideos, were also unavailable for immediate comment.

    In a related update, the EU stated it would remove Stripchat from its list of very large online platforms within four months, as the platform’s monthly user count no longer meets the DSA threshold.

    Additionally, the Commission noted that EU member states would work in tandem to address concerns surrounding smaller pornographic websites, signaling a broader regulatory push to protect children from harmful content across the internet.

    Source: Reuters