The adult platforms targeted by the European Commission for violating the DSA regarding the protection of minors

The European Commission has preliminarily found that Pornhub, Stripchat, XNXX, and XVideos did not correctly assess the risks to minors and did not implement effective measures to prevent their access to pornographic content.

The European Commission has preliminarily found that Pornhub, Stripchat, XNXX, and XVideos violated the Digital Services Act (DSA) by not sufficiently protecting minors from exposure to pornographic content. The European executive argues that the four platforms did not diligently assess the risks to minors and did not implement effective measures to prevent their access to services intended solely for adults.

In short

The Commission states that the risk assessments conducted by the four platforms were not objective and comprehensive, and some disproportionately emphasized reputation and business risks rather than social risks for minors.

According to preliminary findings, the mere self-declaration of age through a click is not an effective measure, and solutions such as blurring pages, content warnings, and "adults only" labels do not effectively prevent minors' access.

The Commission believes that at this stage, platforms must introduce age verification measures that protect privacy to limit children's access to harmful content.

If the preliminary assessment is confirmed, the Commission may adopt a non-compliance decision and impose fines of up to 6% of the provider's annual global turnover, as well as periodic penalties to enforce compliance with the rules.

This case is part of formal proceedings opened on May 27, 2025, against Pornhub, Stripchat, XNXX, and XVideos, regarding the application of DSA obligations concerning the protection of minors online.

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The European executive shows that the identified issues concern both how the platforms assessed their risks and the concrete measures taken to mitigate them. In the Commission's assessment, Pornhub, Stripchat, XNXX, and XVideos did not sufficiently identify and analyze the risks that their own services pose to minors. Where risks were identified, the assessments were not conducted using objective and rigorous methodologies, the Commission stated.

The Commission argues that some of these assessments placed a disproportionate emphasis on concerns related to the commercial reputation of the platforms, instead of focusing on societal risks for children, as required by the DSA. Additionally, according to preliminary findings, Stripchat, XVideos, and XNXX may have distorted or inadequately considered meetings with civil society organizations specialized in children's rights and age verification tools.

Regarding risk mitigation measures, the Commission states that all four platforms failed to implement effective solutions to prevent minors' access. Although their terms of use state that the services are intended solely for adults, minors can access the platforms by simply checking or confirming that they are over 18. The Commission believes that this form of self-declaration is not effective.

The institution also points out that additional measures used by the platforms, including blurring pages, content warnings, and labels indicating that materials are for adults only, do not effectively prevent children's access to harmful content. For this reason, the Commission appreciates that at this stage of the investigation, Pornhub, Stripchat, XNXX, and XVideos must introduce age verification measures that protect privacy.

"In the EU, online platforms have a responsibility. Children access adult content at increasingly younger ages, and these platforms must implement robust, effective measures that protect privacy to keep minors away from their services. Today, we are making a new move to enforce the DSA, ensuring that children are properly protected online, as they have the right to be," said Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice President for technological sovereignty, security, and democracy.

At this stage, the preliminary findings are not yet assigned the value of a final conclusion. The targeted platforms now have the opportunity to consult the documents in the Commission's file and respond in writing. In parallel, the Commission will consult the European Committee for Digital Services. Platforms can also take measures to remedy the identified violations.

If the preliminary assessment is confirmed, the Commission may issue a non-compliance decision. This may lead to a proportional fine for the violation, which cannot exceed 6% of the total annual global turnover of the provider. The Commission may also impose periodic penalties to compel the platform to comply with the rules.

The institution specifies that these findings are part of the formal procedures opened on May 27, 2025, against the four platforms. The investigation was based on the analysis of their risk assessment reports, data and internal documents, responses to information requests, and interviews with experts in the field.

The Commission states that it used the DSA Guidance from 2025 on the protection of minors as a benchmark, which indicates age verification as a proportional and effective measure to reduce the risk of minors accessing online services with adult content. In parallel, the European executive is developing a European age verification application, described as a benchmark standard for an easy-to-use method that protects privacy. According to the Commission, the application is currently being tested together with member states, online platforms, and other stakeholders and will be interoperable with future European digital identity wallets.

The Commission also shows that, in the context of these investigations, it has benefited from the support of relevant national authorities, including the competent DSA authorities from Cyprus and the Czech Republic, the member states of establishment for these very large online platforms. ARCOM from France and the media authority from the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia were also consulted among the national authorities that had already taken measures at the national level regarding pornographic platforms.

In parallel, national coordinators for digital services are conducting a coordinated action against smaller pornographic platforms that do not comply with the rules. According to the Commission, the aim is for the DSA to be applied consistently to online platforms of all sizes in the European Union.

The Digital Services Act (DSA) imposes increased obligations on very large online platforms to assess and mitigate systemic risks, including regarding the protection of minors. In this case, the Commission does not contest the existence of adult content as such, but the way access to this content is controlled concerning children and adolescents.

The case is also relevant to the broader direction of European digital policy. The Commission explicitly links the application of the DSA to the development of a European age verification standard, designed to combine efficiency with privacy protection and interoperability with future European digital identity wallets.

https://2eu.brussels/ro/stiri/platformele-pentru-adulti-vizate-de-comisia-europeana-pentru-incalcarea-dsa-privind-protectia-minorilor