By Major adult websites like Pornhub, Xvideos, and Stripchat face potential requirements to implement age verification technology for users within the European Union. The EU, noting these platforms’ substantial monthly user base of at least 45 million in EU countries, intends to enforce stricter regulations to safeguard minors from accessing explicit content.
Under EU guidelines, large-scale platforms are obligated to adopt heightened measures for child protection. This could involve the incorporation of age verification tools to restrict underage access to adult material, as emphasized by a spokesperson from the European Commission in conversation with the BBC.
The forthcoming European Digital Identity wallet is proposed as a viable solution for age authentication. Once operational, it aims to provide a seamless identity verification process for EU citizens, residents, and businesses, offering a secure means to share electronic documents through mobile devices.
Termed as Very Large Online Platforms (VLOPs) under the Digital Services Act (DSA), these websites, namely Pornhub, Xvideos, and Stripchat, face increased legal responsibilities, notably in content moderation. EU Digital Commissioner Margrethe Vestager lauded this designation, citing it as crucial for intensifying oversight and accountability, particularly concerning algorithms and operational processes.
Vestager stressed the imperative of fostering a safer online environment for children, positioning it as a priority in DSA enforcement efforts. These sites have a grace period of four months to align with specified legal requisites, encompassing measures against illegal content dissemination, fortified safeguards to prevent underage access, and external audits for compliance and risk assessments.
Failure to comply with the stringent regulations could result in penalties amounting to up to 6% of their global turnover, enforced by the EU Commission. This marks the second set of companies to be classified as VLOPs after the initial designation of tech giants like Facebook, Google, and YouTube, subjected to the DSA in April.
In a related development, X (previously Twitter) faces suspicion from the EU regarding potential breaches of its obligations under the DSA to combat disinformation, marking the inaugural enforcement proceedings initiated under this legislation.
