Pornhub and Xvideos sue the EU over the digital services law – Kommersant

Two of the largest porn sites, Pornhub and Xvideos, are suing the European Union over the union’s legislation to regulate large online platforms. Writes about this Politico with reference to sources. According to sources, Pornhub’s lawsuit disputes that the porn site is subject to the Digital Services Act (DSA). According to the DSA, a large online platform is considered to be a site with a monthly audience of 45 million or more people. Pornhub’s lawsuit states that the platform’s audience is 33 million people.

According to Politico, Pornhub and Xvideos also asked for a suspension of a rule requiring them to create a public library of ads hosted on their platform (the DSA requires companies to ensure advertising transparency). The publication notes that the Stripchat platform also filed a lawsuit, but what exactly the company plans to challenge in court is unknown. The lawsuits were filed with the European Court of Justice (Luxembourg) by Pornhub and Xvideos on March 1, and Stripchat on February 29.

In December 2023, the European Commission expanded the scope of the DSA, which regulates the safety of people on the Internet (adopted in August 2023). The three largest porn sites – Pornhub, XVideos and Stripchat – were classified by the EC as VLOPs (“very large online platforms”). According to the DSA, VLOPs must verify the age of users, including through credit card verification or facial scanning. In addition, the law spells out the obligations of large platforms related to limiting content demonstrating violence or the participation of minors. Failure to comply with the DSA risks a fine of up to 6% of the company’s global turnover. The EC has given companies four months to bring their cases into compliance.