EU Adds Pornhub, Stripchat, And XVideos To List Of Companies That Submit To Strict Online Content Rules

EU industry chief Thierry Breton (photo: x @ThierryBreton ·)

JAKARTA - The European Union on Wednesday December 20 added three adult content companies - Pornhub, Stripchat, and XVideos - to the list of companies subject to strict regulations under new online content rules.

This new rule, known as the Digital Services Act (DSA), requires companies to carry out risk management, follow external and independent checks, and share data with authorities and researchers.

In April, the EU designated five Alphabet subsidiaries, two Meta Platforms units, two Microsoft businesses, Alibaba's X and AliExpress platforms among 19 companies that had to comply with the rules.

Such established companies should do more to deal with disinformation, provide users with more protection and choice, and ensure stronger protection for children or face a 6% fine from their global turnover.

"Pornhub, Stripchat, and XVideos meet the user threshold to comply with #DSA's stricter obligations," said bloc's industry chief Thierry Breton. "Creating a safer online environment for our children is a priority for enforcement under DSA."

While large tech companies have a large number of users exceeding the 45 million threshold required to set as very large online platforms (VLOPs), Canada-based Pornhubs say they have 33 million users on average as of July 31, below the required level.

Appointment can be based not only on the number of users reported by the company, but also on information from third parties or alternative sources, senior Commission officials said.

The Commission can establish the company if it has reasonable confidence that the company meets these thresholds, the official added, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

XVideos previously said it had 160 million users in the EU. Stripchat claims to have more than 500 million users globally.XVideos and Stripchat did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the report.

Several governments such as Germany, France, and the UK have been trying to control porn websites by encouraging local regulations.

Within four months of appointment, Pornhub, XVideos, and Stripchat had to adopt measures to protect online users, including children, and reduce systemic risk from their services, the Commission announced in a statement.