EU Investigates Major Porn Sites Over Child Safety

The European Commission said certain websites may be violating strict new rules designed to shield minors from harmful online content.

The European Commission is investigating whether pornographic websites Pornhub, Stripchat, XNXX and XVideos are breaking strict new tech rules designed to shield minors from harmful online content.

EU Investigates Major Porn Sites Over Child Safety

The executive arm of the European Union said Tuesday that those sites may be violating the Digital Services Act–the bloc’s rulebook that compels large online platforms to do more to protect users from harmful illegal content. It said the law obliges companies to ensure a high level of safety for minors. That could mean putting age-verification tools in place to stop minors having access to adult content.

Officials will start investigating the companies “as a matter of priority,” the commission said. The companies could also offer concessions to ease the regulator’s concerns, it said.

“The online space should be a safe environment for children to learn and connect. Our priority is to protect minors and allow them to navigate safely online,” Henna Virkkunen, the bloc’s top tech enforcer, said in a statement, adding that the commission and member states are determined to tackle any potential harm to young people online.

Pornhub, Stripchat, XNXX and XVideos didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

At the same time, the commission said it would de-list Stripchat as a so-called “very large online platform” under the rules, meaning it soon won’t have to abide by a stricter set of rules for certain companies under the DSA.

Write to Edith Hancock at edith.hancock@wsj.com