Pornhub blasts EU over new regulations on top porn sites

Business

By Ariel Zilber

The European Union is imposing stricter age verification requirements on three of the most popular adult sites, including Pornhub, which lashed out at the new regulations.

Pornhub, XVideos and Stripchat have been designated by EU regulators as “Very Large Online Platforms” (VLOPs) due to their generating traffic of at least 45 million monthly active users.

The porn sites will now be required to conduct “more diligent content moderation,” enact measures to ensure “strong protection of minors,” and introduce “more transparency and accountability,” according to a statement from the EU’s digital services department.

The sites will also have to conduct regular risk assessments while working to stop the spread of illegal content such as deepfake pornography and child sex abuse material.

The EU will also subject the sites to external audits while requiring them to produce transparency reports on content moderation decisions.

A spokesperson for Pornhub disputed the EU’s contention that the site has crossed the 45 million monthly active user threshold.

“As of July 31, 2023, 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,” a Pornhub spokesperson said in a statement to The Post.

The Post has sought comment from XVideos and Stripchat.

Mainstream sites like Facebook, Google, TikTok, Apple’s App Store, Snapchat, X (formerly Twitter) and LinkedIn have also earned the VLOP designation.

Earlier this week, the EU said it was investigating X over suspected breaches of its obligations under the Digital Services Act — the first probe launched under the statute.

The Elon Musk-owned site remains committed to complying with the DSA and is cooperating with the regulatory process, an X spokesperson said in a statement on Monday.

“It is important that this process remains free of political influence and follows the law,” the company said.

The DSA came into force in November last year and requires very large online platforms and search engines to do more to tackle illegal content and risks to public security.

In October, Amazon appealed the EU’s designation as a “VLOP.” The company claimed the designation is more appropriate for social media platforms and search engines rather than for retailers.

Zalando, a Germany-based online retailer, also took legal action against the EU designation.

Earlier this year, Pornhub blocked access to its site for users in Utah after the state’s governor signed into law a new measure that creates liability for pornographic websites that permit people under the age of 18 to access their content.

Pornhub and other sites that offer explicit content scored a legal victory when a federal judge struck down a Texas law requiring users to verify their age and see health warnings.