EU demands stronger age verification from adult websites

The European Commission has preliminarily found that several major adult platforms, including Pornhub, Stripchat, XNXX, and XVideos, may be in breach of the Digital Services Act for failing to adequately protect minors from accessing harmful content.

These findings highlight concerns that children can easily access such platforms rather than being effectively prevented by robust safeguards.

The Commission’s investigation indicates that the platforms’ risk assessments were insufficient. In several cases, companies focused on reputational or business risks instead of fully addressing societal harms to minors.

Authorities also raised concerns that some platforms did not adequately consider input from civil society organisations specialising in children’s rights and age-assurance technologies, undermining the reliability of their evaluations.

Regarding risk mitigation, the Commission found that existing measures are ineffective. Simple self-declaration systems, in which users confirm they are over 18, were deemed inadequate, while additional features such as warnings, labels, or blurred content failed to prevent minors from accessing content.

The Commission considers that stronger, privacy-preserving age-verification solutions are necessary to ensure meaningful protection of children’s rights and well-being online.

The companies involved now have the opportunity to respond and propose corrective measures, while consultations with the European Board for Digital Services continue.

If the preliminary findings are confirmed, the Commission may impose fines of up to 6 percent of global annual turnover, alongside periodic penalties to enforce compliance.

The case forms part of broader efforts to enforce the Digital Services Act and strengthen online safety across the EU, rather than relying on voluntary measures by platforms.

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