EU Commission Finds Pornhub, XNXX, XVideos Breached DSA on Child Safety

The European Commission has found that several major adult video platforms, including Pornhub, Stripchat, XNXX, and XVideos, have breached the Digital Services Act (DSA) by failing to protect minors from accessing their services. These preliminary findings follow an investigation that began in May 2025, supported by national authorities in Cyprus and France.

DSA Enforcement and Preliminary Findings

The European Commission’s investigation concluded that the aforementioned platforms failed to adequately identify and assess risks, particularly concerning child protection. Regulators determined that the companies used an inappropriate methodology, focusing on "business-centric concerns" rather than the social risks associated with exposing minors to sexually explicit content. This approach reportedly overlooked meetings with civil society organizations.

The Commission also noted that the companies are not implementing effective systems to prevent underage access. EU technology commissioner Henna Virkkunen stated that platforms must deploy "robust, privacy-preserving and effective measures" to prevent underage access, according to Reuters. The Commission’s findings suggest that current safeguards do not meet this standard. Regulators concluded that the companies did not employ sufficiently rigorous or objective methods to evaluate the risks posed to children, prioritizing reputational considerations over meaningful risk mitigation. A central point in the Commission’s case is the widespread reliance on self-declaration tools by these platforms.

The DSA, which aims to impose stricter accountability on major digital services, requires companies to implement effective safeguards against misuse of their platforms. The Commission’s action follows a 10-month investigation into how large online platforms manage risks related to harmful and illegal content. The platforms have been given time to address and resolve the issues flagged by the Commission as breaches of the DSA.

Activist Campaign for VLOP Reclassification

In a related development, a group of European NGOs, led by Italian digital rights attorney and activist Alessandro Polidoro, has urged the European Commission to investigate the self-reported data of top adult sites. The goal is to potentially reclassify these sites as “Very Large Online Platforms” (VLOPs) for DSA enforcement purposes. Polidoro’s campaign, #StopDataPorn, alleges "systemic violation of data protection law" by tube sites.

Polidoro’s letter to the EU, sent on behalf of the NGOs and first reported by Euractiv, claims that the self-reported data from tube sites shows "surprisingly small numbers that have allowed them to temporarily elude the designation as VLOPs." According to DSA rules, online platforms with more than 45 million monthly users in the European Union are considered to entail a "systemic risk" for society. Such platforms must adhere to a specific regime, including transparency and risk management obligations.

In June, Polidoro told Wired magazine that he believes Pornhub "doesn’t allow people to easily opt out of being tracked by cookies; the site isn’t clear about the data it shares with third parties; and its algorithm ‘assigns’ people sexual preferences, based on the videos they watch."

A coalition of 30 groups, including AccessNow, Center for Democracy and Technology, European Digital Rights, and the European Sex Workers’ Rights Alliance, joined Polidoro’s campaign. Polidoro has been attempting to create European liability under the new legislation against Pornhub, XVideos, and other tube sites.

Discrepancies in User Data and Future Designations

Euractiv reported that XVideos "admitted that every month they have more than 160 million users in the EU." This figure would qualify XVideos as a VLOP under DSA rules. This number is considerably higher than the 33 million monthly users each declared by Pornhub and XHamster, and the seven million declared by YouPorn.

Polidoro’s letter claims these lower figures "seem to be a misinterpretation" and directly accuses the tube sites of "actively attempting to dodge their responsibilities and not be held accountable for the systemic risks existing on their platforms." Polidoro told Euractiv that his letter aims to "show to the European Commission that in the upcoming round of designations for very large online platforms, they cannot leave these platforms out of the picture."

Last week, several non-specifically-adult platforms and companies published their initial DSA transparency reports regarding moderation. These included companies designated as “Very Large Online Platforms” and “Very Large Online Search Engines.” The first seven platforms to publish these reports were Amazon, LinkedIn, TikTok, Pinterest, Snapchat, Zalando, and Bing. Other companies have until November 6 to do so, although Meta published its reports for Facebook and Instagram on Friday. The European Commission is expected to release a second batch of systemic platforms for DSA enforcement before the end of 2023.

Key Facts

• The European Commission has found Pornhub, Stripchat, XNXX, and XVideos in preliminary breach of the Digital Services Act (DSA) for failing to protect minors.
• The investigation began in May 2025, supported by authorities in Cyprus and France.
• Regulators allege platforms used "business-centric concerns" over social risks and did not implement effective systems to prevent underage access.
• Alessandro Polidoro, an Italian lawyer, leads a campaign with 30 NGOs to reclassify top adult sites as "Very Large Online Platforms" (VLOPs) under the DSA.
• Polidoro’s campaign, #StopDataPorn, alleges "systemic violation of data protection law" by tube sites.
• XVideos reported over 160 million monthly EU users, a figure that would qualify it as a VLOP, contrasting with lower figures reported by Pornhub (33 million), XHamster (33 million), and YouPorn (7 million).