European Commission Investigates Major Pornography Websites Over Lapse in Protection Measures for Minors

The European Commission has initiated an investigation into four major pornography websites, including Pornhub, Stripchat, XNXX, and XVideos, to assess their age verification measures and mitigate risks of minors accessing lewd content. The move aims to create a safer online environment for children under 18. The investigation will focus on the platforms' age verification steps and their effectiveness in keeping minors away from adult content.

Key Takeaways:

• The European Commission will investigate Pornhub, Stripchat, XNXX, and XVideos over alleged lapses in protection measures for minors.
• The investigation will center on age verification steps to keep minors away from adult content and will further examine how the porn platforms verify and mitigate risks.
• The Commission will also examine how the platforms verify and mitigate risks, as well as the effectiveness of current digital systems of self-declaration.
• The investigation will be led by European national authorities, with the Digital Services Board overseeing compliance on smaller porn websites.
• The European Commission has expressed concerns that current age verification measures are not effective, citing the lack of an effective age verification system in place.

Statistics:

• Up to 6% of a digital porn distributor's global turnover rate as the maximum fine under the European Union's Digital Services Act.
• 45 million users, the threshold for a platform to be designated as a "very large online platform".
• The number of members in the European Union, 27.

Sources:

• "EU to investigate major porn websites over age verification." UPI, May 27.
• "European Commission to investigate major porn websites over age verification." Politico, May 27.
• "EU to probe major porn sites over child safety." Reuters, May 27.