Xvideos and Pornhub will have stricter regulations in the EU – 12/20/2023 – Tech

The European Union added, this Wednesday (20), three pornographic sites — Pornhub, Stripchat and Xvideos — to the list of large online platforms subject to reinforced controls, under the new legislation on digital services.

Like X, TikTok, Google or Facebook, these platforms, which have more than 45 million active users in the European Union, will be subject to stricter rules to ensure that they apply the necessary means to protect minors, announced the European Commission .

These strengthened rules will be applied to the three porn sites from the end of April, four months after their designation by the commission, which now plays the role of digital police in the European Union. In total, Brussels has designated 22 platforms whose activity will be especially scrutinized.

Pornhub, Stripchat and Xvideos must “adopt specific measures to hold accountable and protect online users, including minors, and adequately assess and mitigate any systemic risk arising from their services”, explained the commission.

The body highlighted that it will remain especially attentive “to measures aimed at protecting minors against harmful content and combating the dissemination of illicit content”, such as violent images or child pornography.

The Commissioner for Digital Affairs, Thierry Breton, highlighted that “creating a safer online environment for our children” is “a priority” in the application of the new legislation on digital services.

The designation of the three sites as “very large platforms” online will allow “a more in-depth examination of their algorithms and processes”, highlighted the commission’s vice-president, Margrethe Vestager.

In a message published on its page, the Pornhub platform said it is below the 45 million user criteria established by the EU, which opens the door to a possible challenge to its inclusion on the list.

“As of July 31, 2023, Pornhub has 33 million monthly users in the European Union, based on the average over the past six months,” the platform said.

Considered to be of “systemic importance” and of “particular responsibilities”, due to their size, these platforms are subject to direct supervision by the European Commission, which has sanctioning powers.

Violators can be fined up to 6% of their annual worldwide value, or even banned from operating in Europe, in the case of serious and repeated infractions.