The War on Porn Regular Updates about the Assault on The Adult Industry
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BRUSSELS — A civil society organization working across the European Union and internationally has released a report alleging that the three largest pornography platforms operating within the EU are not fully meeting the compliance standards required under the Digital Services Act (DSA) for so-called very large online platforms (VLOPs).
The Digital Intimacy Coalition (DIC) completed its study in April 2026 but did not publicly release its findings until July 6. The report examines three platforms: Aylo-owned Pornhub.com, Technius-owned Stripchat.com, and WebGroup Czech Republic-owned XVideos.com.
All three websites have been designated as VLOPs by the European Commission under the DSA. That designation gives the Commission authority to subject adult entertainment platforms, along with major social networks, to heightened regulatory oversight focused on online safety and compliance throughout the European Union.
Traditionally, VLOPs are defined as online platforms with more than 45 million users across the EU’s 27 member states.
Although the platforms have argued that they serve fewer than 45 million users within the European Union, the Commission has continued to classify sites such as Stripchat and Pornhub as VLOPs. Critics have questioned whether the current definition of a VLOP is appropriate, arguing that the criteria remain open to interpretation. Under the DSA, however, platforms carrying the designation are required to satisfy a number of compliance obligations each year.
According to the Digital Intimacy Coalition, its review identified areas where the three platforms are not fulfilling their “legal obligations to meaningfully assess platform risk,” as outlined in the report.
DIC described its publication as “the first in-depth independent analysis of the legally mandated risk assessments … examined through a sex-positive lens that treats gender-based violence and the over-moderation of consensual content as equally serious violations of fundamental rights.”
“Zero platforms recognise sexual autonomy as a fundamental right. Not one platform’s methodology was found to be documented or reproducible,” DIC added. Carlotta Rigotti, head of DIC’s Risk Assessment Analysis Taskforce, said, “These risk assessments were supposed to be a transparency tool. Instead, they read like reputation management.
“Severity ratings are unsubstantiated, AI-generated content is ignored entirely, and not one platform grapples with the real tension at the heart of this industry: how to protect against gender-based violence without erasing the right to sexual autonomy,” Rigotti continued.
Ana Ornelas, the coalition’s advocacy officer, added, “What is missing from these assessments is just as telling as what is in them.
“We do not have data on moderator welfare, disclosure of civil society partnerships, or engagement with platform architecture or recommender systems, despite that being an explicit legal requirement. Regulators and the public deserve better than this,” Ornelas said. The report also identifies four structural weaknesses that it says appear across all three platforms in relation to the legal requirements for reporting risk assessments. According to the analysis, the assessment methodologies are “opaque” and “non-reproducible.”
The report also states that the platforms rely on a narrow definition of gender-based violence, focusing primarily on the removal of non-consensual image sharing. It further argues that platform policies appear to be driven more by reputational concerns than user safety, while claiming that mitigation measures are often insufficient and that statements regarding their effectiveness are not adequately supported.
The platforms did not provide comments addressing the specific findings outlined in the Digital Intimacy Coalition’s report. An Aylo spokesperson said the company’s latest risk assessment, completed in April, is expected to be published later this month. According to the spokesperson, that report “covers many of the areas addressed in the analysis.”
