Pornhub, Stripchat, XNXX and XVideos targeted in EU investigation over child safety violations

Brussels: Adult content platforms Pornhub, Stripchat, XNXX and XVideos will be investigated for suspected breaches of EU online content law, EU regulators said on Tuesday, in a move that could lead to fines of as much as 6% of their global annual turnover.

The European Commission said the companies had not complied with rules requiring them to put in place appropriate measures to protect minors from adult content.

They also breached rules obliging companies to take risk assessment and mitigation measures of negative effects on the rights of children and to prevent them from accessing adult content via age verification tools.

"The online space should be a safe environment for children to learn and connect. Our priority is to protect minors and allow them to navigate safely online," EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen said in a statement.

Pornhub is part of Cypriot group Aylo Freesites Ltd, XNXX is owned by Czech company NKL Associates, Stripchat is a subsidiary of Cypriot company Technius Ltd and XVideos is part of WebGroup Czech Republic.

The companies were designated as very large online platforms under the Digital Services Act in 2023, which requires them to do more to tackle illegal and harmful content on their platforms.

The Commission said it would drop its designation of Stripchat as a very large online platform in four months' time after its average monthly number of users fell below the DSA user threshold.

Separately, the EU executive said EU countries would coordinate actions against smaller pornographic platforms to protect children.