The European Union (EU) has subjected Canadian-owned adult entertainment website Pornhub to strict regulations under the Digital Services Act (DSA).
The DSA focuses on making online environments safer by requiring platforms to take action to prevent illegal activities and the spread of disinformation.
Along with Pornhub, XVideos and Stripchat also face regulations after the EU designated the three sites as Very Large Online Platforms (VLOPs) under the DSA. Under this categorization, platforms have to follow “more stringent rules.”
This includes completing risk assessments and taking part in external audits for transparency purposes. These platforms also have to take action to protect minors, which includes mitigating material showing child sexual abuse.
In a press release, the EU states the designation comes after the three platforms hit 45 million monthly users. Other websites in this category include Facebook, Snapchat, Wikipedia, and Google Maps.
The sites have until February 17th, 2024, to comply with the regulations.
Similar efforts to regulate adult entertainment websites have also been made in Canada. Bill S-210, titled An Act To Restrict Young Persons’ Online Access To Sexually Explicit Material, first made its way to the Senate in November 2021 before moving onto the House of Commons in May 2023.
It got one step closer to becoming law when it passed its second reading on December 13th. The act would require adult entertainment websites to implement ways to verify users’ ages to protect minors from accessing illicit content.
Canadian private equity firm Ethical Capital Partners acquired MindGeek (now known as Aylo), PornHub’s parent company, in March 2023.
Source: EU
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