BRUSSELS — The European Commission has singled out Pornhub, XVideos and Stripchat for enforcement of the Digital Services Act (DSA), giving them until July 4 to provide compliance information.
The European Union’s executive branch released a statement Thursday announcing it had requested that the three companies “provide more detailed information on the measures they have taken to diligently assess and mitigate risks related to the protection of minors online, as well as to prevent the amplification of illegal content and gender-based violence.”
As XBIZ reported, in December the European Commission designated the three platforms as “very large online platforms” (VLOPs) and therefore subject to special regulations under the controversial Digital Services Act (DSA).
The DSA classifies platforms that reach at least 45 million average monthly active EU users as VLOPs. In an official announcement, the Commission stated at the time that its investigation had determined that the three adult sites meet that threshold.
In March, European tech news site Euractiv reported that the three companies were suing the EU over their classification as VLOPs.
A rep for Pornhub’s parent company, Aylo, told Euractiv that the designation happened “despite the extensive data and methodology explanations we provided to support our published figures. Therefore, we are exercising our right to take the legal route with our filing of an application before the General Court of the EU to annul the designation of Pornhub as a VLOP.
“We will always comply with the law, including our obligations under the Digital Services Act, which we have been meticulously preparing for, and we hope that governments around the world will implement laws that protect the safety, privacy, and security of users,” the Aylo rep added. “We look forward to the facts being fully and fairly aired.”
