The European Commission has accused four major adult platforms Pornhub, Stripchat, XNXX and XVideos of violating the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) by failing to adequately stop minors from accessing adult content.
The findings come from a 10‑month investigation, after which the Commission issued preliminary conclusions that the services are not doing enough to protect children’s rights and wellbeing online.
According to the Commission’s preliminary assessment, the four platforms rely on a basic “self-declaration” mechanism that only asks users to click once to confirm they are over 18. The regulator says that approach, even when combined with content warnings, blurred pages or “adults only” labels, does not effectively prevent minors from viewing harmful content.
In response, the Commission is demanding that Pornhub, Stripchat, XNXX and XVideos introduce what it calls “privacy-preserving age verification systems” tools that can meaningfully restrict underage access without unnecessarily exposing users’ personal data.
Henna Virkkunen, the European Union’s executive vice-president for tech sovereignty, security and democracy, underscored the stakes in a statement, saying that online platforms in the EU have a responsibility to protect children, who are “accessing adult content at increasingly younger ages.” She stressed that robust, privacy-conscious safeguards are required to keep minors off such services and framed the action as part of broader enforcement of the DSA to ensure children “are properly protected online, as they have the right to be.”
The Commission’s concerns go beyond weak age-gates. It also criticises how the companies assessed the risks to minors on their platforms.
Regulators say the four services did not employ objective and thorough methodologies to fully evaluate the impact of minors accessing their content. In particular, the Commission found that Stripchat, XNXX and XVideos either misrepresented or failed to properly reflect consultations with specialised organisations focused on children’s rights and age verification systems in their official risk assessments.
The Commission further suggests that these risk assessments placed disproportionate emphasis on business-focused issues, such as reputational damage, instead of prioritising the broader societal risks to minors.
Under the DSA, large online platforms must identify and mitigate systemic risks, including harm to children. If the European Commission ultimately confirms non-compliance and issues a formal decision, the porn providers could face fines of up to six percent of their global annual turnover.
For now, Pornhub, Stripchat, XNXX and XVideos have an opportunity to review the preliminary findings, respond to the Commission and introduce corrective measures aimed at addressing the alleged DSA breaches.