Also available in: Deutsch (German)

Last year, the EU Commission decided that the three platforms must install an AVS(CASZIN reported). The background to this is that Stripchat, Pornhub and XVideos are VLOPs (Very Large Online Platforms) and reach more than 45 million visitors. This is required by the Digital Services Act (DSA). If the operators do not comply with the obligations, they face severe penalties – at least allegedly.

Pornhub is already successfully circumventing the obligation

The commitment date for Pornhub is April 21 and for Stripchat and XVideos April 23, 2024. However: PornHub simply changed its domain extension today (April 21), including a redirect from the original domain. This means that the site can still be accessed as usual – without AVS. This approach is reminiscent of XHamster’s reaction last year, when the controversial Commission for the Protection of Minors in the Media (KJM) imposed a similar blocking order. This also came to nothing thanks to a trivial change in the domain name. Anyone who is even minimally technically gifted or informed could circumvent such a block – should it ever be imposed – with the simplest of means anyway: The Opera browser, for example, comes with a free VPN as standard. With just two clicks of the mouse, you can pretend you’re from outside the EU and be right in the middle of the fun.

Like trying to nail a pudding to the wall

After the complete failure of the KJM with XHamster (a failure of many), the EU Commission is now facing a similar fate. If even the most trivial technical changes are enough to undermine EU law, the EU Commission is apparently also mutating into a paper tiger in this area. It is like trying to nail a pudding to the wall. It remains to be seen how Stripchat and XVideos will react to the obligation, which has actually been in place since February. In any case, an AVS would be hugely detrimental to sales and, in the case of StripChat, also to the numerous German women who are now earning good money in front of the cam.

One point of contention may actually be whether the platforms actually reach the 45 million visitor mark – an arbitrary figure that corresponds to around 10% of the EU population. Although the full-bodied advertising promises go far beyond this, they include other platforms such as RedTube and YouPorn. It would also be conceivable to diversify further and thus fall below the magic threshold – and the platforms would no longer be considered “VLOPs”.

How harmful is pornography?

This almost philosophical question does not seem to have played a role in the EU Commission’s decision. After all, there are also considerable doubts about the impact on young people of the positions taken by the authorities – especially among experts such as Madita Oeming, whose interesting book on the subject we presented here. In any case, it remains completely unclear why visiting a porn site that is frequented by only 44 million visitors should be completely harmless for young people. After all, by law, it only becomes harmful from the 45th million onwards.

Penalty of 6% of annual turnover plus fines

Despite the flawed logic in many areas of the regulations, the possible range of penalties is not a trivial one: in principle, fines of up to 6 percent and penalty payments of up to 5 percent of annual turnover are threatened. For the three portals affected, the amounts are likely to be well into the millions. It can therefore be assumed that a host of highly qualified lawyers have worked out a response in advance. Perhaps the minimal change to the domain will actually be enough to drive the EU Commission’s high-profile campaign completely up the wall. It remains to be seen whether further legal means can be used. In any case, it remains exciting – and customers can take comfort in the fact that there are plenty of other tubes and chat portals that are not affected by the regulations in the first place – and there are VPNs.

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