Brussels (Belgium) (AFP) – The European Union accused four pornographic platforms on Thursday of allowing children to access adult content in breach of digital rules, putting the companies at risk of large fines. At the same time, Brussels also launched a separate wide-ranging probe into Snapchat over suspicions it is failing to adequately protect children online.
The move comes as pressure is piling up globally on social media to ensure children’s safety, with a US ruling this week that found Meta and YouTube liable for harming a young woman because of their platforms’ addictive design seen as a possible turning point. There are also expanding efforts, especially in Britain and France, to force porn sites to check users’ age to prevent children from accessing online smut.
The European Commission said it preliminarily found Pornhub, Stripchat, XNXX, and XVideos failed to protect children’s rights and wellbeing in violation of the Digital Services Act (DSA) under the investigation launched in May 2025. The EU said minors could access all four platforms by a simple click confirming they are over 18, and accused the companies of prioritising their reputation over children’s safety.
The commission told the porn platforms they need to implement age verification measures that preserve privacy but prevent children from seeing harmful content. “Children are accessing adult content at increasingly younger ages and these platforms must put in place robust, privacy-preserving and effective measures to keep minors off their services,” EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen said in a statement. If confirmed to be in breach, the EU can fine the platforms up to six percent of their respective global turnover. Pornhub is owned by Cyprus-based Aylo, and Stripchat is also headquartered on the Mediterranean island. XNXX and XVideos are based in the Czech Republic.
As the EU announced its wide-ranging probe into Snapchat, the commission said it feared the platform was “exposing minors to grooming attempts” and information about the sale of illegal products like drugs. “Snapchat appears to have overlooked that the Digital Services Act demands high safety standards for all users. With this investigation, we will closely look into their compliance with our legislation,” Virkkunen said. Snapchat has around 97 million monthly active users in the EU. The company said its users’ safety and wellbeing was a “top priority.” “We have fully cooperated with the commission to date — engaging proactively, transparently and working in good faith to meet the DSA’s high safety standards — and we will continue to do so,” a Snapchat spokesperson said.
The EU’s actions come after a Los Angeles jury on Wednesday found Meta — the American parent company of Facebook and Instagram — and YouTube liable for harming a young woman through the addictive design of their platforms. Virkkunen welcomed the verdict, which handed plaintiffs in more than a thousand similar pending cases significant leverage, saying it sent “a very clear message” that online platforms need to take seriously “the risks they are posing.”
Facebook and Instagram are also under investigation in the EU in two separate probes, one of which is focused on how the platforms protect children. Virkkunen indicated that there would be preliminary findings “soon” in the case, especially regarding the probe’s focus on age verification. In a watershed moment, the EU last month told Chinese-owned platform TikTok to change its “addictive design” or face heavy fines under the EU’s DSA. The EU is also developing an age verification app with pilot schemes ongoing in six member states including Denmark and France. Brussels says when it is rolled out, it will be a “user-friendly and privacy-preserving age verification method.”
© 2024 AFP
