Brussels, Belgium. The European Commission said Pornhub and Stripchat were preliminarily found to have violated the European Union’s Digital Services Act by failing to protect minors from exposure to pornographic content.
Preliminary findings on risk identification and assessment
The commission said the two websites, alongside two others not based in Cyprus, did not diligently identify and assess the risks their platforms pose to minors accessing their services.
It added that even where risks were identified, the four websites did not conduct a thorough assessment and did not use objective and thorough methodologies.
Focus of risk assessments
The commission said the assessments disproportionately emphasised business-centric concerns, such as reputational damage, rather than focusing on societal risks to minors, as required under the Digital Services Act.
Stripchat and engagement with civil society
Limassol-based Stripchat was accused of either misrepresenting or not considering meetings with civil society organisations specialising in children’s rights and age assurance tools.
Measures to prevent minors from accessing services
The commission said all four websites failed to implement effective measures to prevent minors from accessing their services and therefore failed to protect minors’ rights and wellbeing.
It said that despite stating in their terms of services that their services are for adults only, all four platforms allow minors to access their platforms by a simple click confirming they are over 18, adding that self-declaration is not an effective measure.
The commission also said additional mitigation measures, including page blurring, content warnings, and labels indicating content is restricted to adults, are inadequate and do not effectively prevent minors from accessing harmful content.
It said all four websites need to implement privacy-preserving age verification measures to protect children from harmful content.
Next steps in the process
The commission said all four websites will have the possibility to examine the documents in the commission’s investigation files and reply in writing to the commission’s preliminary findings.
What measures should online platforms implement to prevent minors from accessing harmful content?
