Porn Sites to Be Regulated Under EU Digital Services Act

BRUSSELS—The European Commission today announced it has designated three popular adult entertainment platforms as "very large online platforms" (VLOPs) in accordance with the European Union's bloc-wide Digital Services Act. Pornhub, Stripchat and XVideos are now subject to Digital Services Act regulations, with more than 45 million users across the EU. "The designation is the result of Commission investigations concluding that the three services fulfill the threshold of 45 million average monthly users in the EU," indicates a statement from the commission. "Today's designations follow a first set of designation decisions of 19 very large online platforms and search engines" in April 2023. Regulatory guidance issued by the commission grants an exception for small and microenterprises. All online platforms and search engines that aren't covered by the exception are required to comply with the obligations issued by the Digital Services Act by February 17, 2024. VLOPs are required to release transparency reports to the European Commission, overhaul trust and safety programs, and provide data on users and trust and safety interventions, among other metrics and reports. Adult websites were initially exempt from the VLOP regulation. This was clearly changed, per previous AVN reports. Italian privacy rights attorney Alessandro Polidoro wrote a letter to the commission on behalf of civil society groups, including a set of sex workers' rights organizations, asking for Pornhub, Stripchat and XVideos to be regulated as VLOPs. “If designated as [VLOPs], big porn platforms will have to identify, [analyze] and assess all systemic risks deriving from the design or functioning of their service and related systems, including algorithmic content moderation systems,” reads Polidoro's letter. A spokesperson for Aylo, the parent company of Pornhub, told the tabloid New York Post that the EU user base is below 45 million. “Pornhub has 33 million average monthly recipients of the service in the European Union, calculated as an average over the period of the past six months,” the spokesperson told Post reporter Ariel Zilber. In corroboration to AVN, an Aylo spokesperson pointed us to the platform's required DSA clarification found on Pornhub.com.