Porn websites charged with breaching EU tech rules

Adult content platforms Pornhub, Stripchat, XNXX and XVideos have been accused of violating EU rules by allowing children to access pornographic content on their sites, which could lead to hefty fines.

The charges follow a 10-month investigation into the blog under the Digital Services Act, which requires major online platforms to do more to combat illegal and harmful content.

“Children are accessing adult content at increasingly younger ages, and these platforms need to put in place robust, privacy-protecting and effective measures to keep minors away from services,” EU technology chief Henna Virkkunen said on Thursday. he said.

The European Commission, which is tasked with enforcing the law, said companies did not use objective and comprehensive methodologies to assess risks to children accessing their services.

Cypriot group blamed Pornhub, owned by Aylo Freesites; Stripchat, a subsidiary of Cypriot Technius; XNXX, owned by Czech group NKL Associates; and WebGroup Czech Republic unit XVideos said they were more concerned about their reputations than societal risks to minors.

The regulator has also addressed the issue with companies’ self-declaration tool, which allows users to access their platforms with a simple click verifying that they are over 18 years of age.

In addition, it was stated that measures such as page blurring and content warnings were not effective in preventing children from accessing the sites.

The commission said Pornhub, Stripchat, XNXX and XVideos must implement privacy-protecting age verification measures to protect children from harmful content.

Companies risk fines of up to six per cent of their global annual turnover if found guilty of breaches of the Digital Services Act.