The European Commission has concluded, preliminarily, that platforms Pornhub, Stripchat, XNXX and XVideos violate the regulations of the Digital Services Act (DSA) by not applying effective measures to prevent minors' access to pornographic content and urges them to do more about it, holding them responsible for implementing effective age verification systems that, at the same time, must be privacy-respecting.
Failures in the risk assessment for minors
According to its conclusions, these four platforms did not diligently evaluate the risks they pose to minors. The Commission points out that, even when they identified such risks, they did not conduct complete analyses nor did they use objective and rigorous methodologies.
In this regard, Brussels points out that the assessments prioritized business aspects, such as reputational damage, over social risks for minors, contravening the requirements of the DSA. Furthermore, some platforms would have omitted or distorted their relationship with civil society organizations specialized in children's rights.
Insufficient measures
The Commission also concludes that the measures implemented to prevent minors' access are ineffective. Despite declaring that their services are exclusively aimed at adults, the platforms allow access through a simple verification based on age self-certification.
Brussels considers that this system is not valid and that other complementary measures —such as page blurring, content warnings or “for adults only” labels— are also not sufficient to protect minors.
Therefore, the Commission maintains that these platforms must implement effective and privacy-respecting age verification systems to comply with European regulations.
Next steps and possible sanctions
The affected companies will now be able to exercise their right of defense, examine the file, and respond in writing to the preliminary conclusions. They also have the option to adopt measures to correct the detected deficiencies.
If the non-compliance is finally confirmed, the Commission could impose fines of up to 6% of each platform's annual worldwide turnover, in addition to periodic penalties to force compliance.
Investigation open since 2025
These conclusions form part of the formal procedure initiated on May 27, 2025 under the framework of the DSA, following an investigation based on internal reports, platform data, and consultations with experts.
The Commission has used as reference the 2025 guidelines on child protection, which identify age verification as a key measure to prevent access to adult content.
This case reinforces Brussels' strategy to demand concrete responsibilities from large digital platforms in the protection of minors, in a context of growing concern over early access to sensitive content on the internet.