Brussels has several adult sites in its sights: Pornhub, Stripchat, XNXX, and XVideos. These porn platforms are now the subject of a formal investigation for alleged violations of the Digital Services Regulation (DSA) regarding the lack of effective age verification measures for underage internet users.
Absent or insufficient age verification systems
In addition to the lack of age verification tools, the Commission services also point to failures in the assessment and mitigation of risks to the mental and physical well-being of users and the lack of appropriate measures to ensure the safety and privacy of younger users.
The internet must be "a safe environment for children to learn and connect," says Henna Virkkunen, Commissioner for Technology Sovereignty. "Our priority is to protect minors and enable them to navigate the internet safely (...) we are determined to combat any potential harm to young online users," she continues. The protection of minors is one of the DSA's priorities; very large online platforms (VLOPs) designated as such by the regulator (based on attendance criteria, among others) must ensure that "the rights and best interests of children [are] at the heart of the operation of their services." Brussels nevertheless points out that the opening of this procedure does not prejudge its outcome.
At the same time, several European organizations and Member States have launched a coordinated action to "protect minors from pornographic content on small platforms".
The national authorities designated by each Member State to supervise and enforce the DSA in their country, in other words the Digital Services Coordinators (DSCs), will be involved. These authorities will share their information to identify sites and evaluate age verification measures.
Source: European Commission
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