BRUSSELS –
The European Commission on Thursday opened a formal investigation into Snapchat over suspected failures to protect minors, while separately issuing preliminary findings that four major pornography sites – Pornhub, Stripchat, XNXX and XVideos – have not prevented children from accessing adult content in breach of the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA). (apnews.com)
EU officials said the Snapchat probe will scrutinize whether the platform’s “age assurance” is sufficient, whether adults can pose as minors to contact children, and whether teens are exposed to content about illegal or age‑restricted products such as drugs, alcohol and vapes. In the porn case, regulators faulted self‑declaration “I am over 18” buttons as ineffective and set out alleged shortcomings in risk assessment and mitigation. Both actions carry potential penalties of up to 6% of a company’s global annual turnover under the DSA, the EU’s flagship rulebook for online platforms that took full effect for all services in February 2024.
What Brussels is examining at Snapchat
The Commission said it suspects Snapchat is not adequately verifying users’ ages and is failing to prevent adults with harmful intent from contacting minors, as well as failing to shield under‑age users from content on illegal or age‑restricted goods. The inquiry also covers the usability of tools to report suspected illegal content and the clarity of safety and privacy settings offered to teens – issues that go to the heart of the DSA’s requirement that platforms design services with child safety “by default” and “by design.”
Snap, which has reported more than 90 million average monthly active recipients of Snapchat in the EU (August 2024), faces the DSA’s most stringent duties if classed or treated as operating at very large scale – a status defined by the law at 45 million monthly users in the EU.
In its response to Thursday’s announcement, a Snapchat spokesperson said the safety and wellbeing of users is a top priority. “Snapchat is designed to help people communicate with close friends and family in a positive, trusted environment, with privacy and safety built in from the start – including additional protections for teens,” the spokesperson said. “As online risks evolve, we continuously review, strengthen, and invest in these safeguards.” The company will now have to demonstrate to regulators that those safeguards meet the DSA’s detailed standards on age‑appropriate design and risk mitigation.
Four adult sites face formal accusations
In a parallel decision, Brussels issued preliminary findings that Pornhub, Stripchat, XNXX and XVideos “did not diligently identify and assess the risks that their platforms pose to minors,” criticizing reliance on one‑click age affirmation and warning that measures such as page blurring and warning labels are insufficient to keep children off their services. The companies now have the opportunity to respond before any final ruling, in what could become test cases for how far the DSA allows regulators to push biometric checks, digital identity systems or other intrusive methods while still respecting privacy and free‑expression guarantees.
The Commission’s push follows a year‑long investigation begun in May 2025 under the DSA. According to the EU executive, providers must deploy privacy‑preserving, effective age‑verification tools and robust governance to mitigate risks to minors – and the Commission can accept binding commitments or impose fines where infringements are found.
“What harms may arise from exposure to pornography at such a young age? Mental health issues, negative gender attitudes, and increased tolerance and normalisation of violent sexual behaviours, to name just a few. The message is clear. These platforms have to get their house in order.”
Ownership spans multiple jurisdictions: Pornhub’s parent company, Aylo (formerly MindGeek), is Canada‑based; the owners of XVideos and XNXX are based in the Czech Republic; Stripchat’s parent is registered in Cyprus – underscoring the cross‑border enforcement the DSA is designed to enable and the likelihood that cooperation with national media and child‑protection regulators will be needed to police compliance.
The EU’s enforcement toolbox under the DSA
Adopted in 2022 and fully applicable to all platforms since February 17, 2024 (with very large platforms bound since August 25, 2023), the Digital Services Act requires platforms to assess and mitigate systemic risks, including harms to minors, and empowers the Commission to enforce directly against the largest services. Its sanctions framework includes:
- Fines up to 6% of global annual turnover for non‑compliance.
- Periodic penalty payments up to 5% of average daily worldwide turnover for failure to comply with remedies or interim measures.
- Binding commitments and the ability to order interim measures during investigations, including requirements to adjust recommendation algorithms or introduce new age‑assurance tools while cases are ongoing.
Unlike previous EU internet rules that relied heavily on national authorities, the DSA gives the Commission quasi‑regulatory powers over designated “very large” platforms, effectively turning Brussels into a central digital regulator for the bloc.
Age checks are tightening worldwide
Europe’s move aligns with a wider policy pivot. The Commission and several member states are developing privacy‑preserving age‑verification approaches, including a pathway tied to the forthcoming EU Digital Identity Wallet expected by end‑2026. Independent analyses show many pornography services still rely on self‑declaration alone – a practice regulators deem ineffective but that industry groups argue remains the least intrusive for adult users and data‑protection rights.
Beyond the EU, the United Kingdom’s Online Safety Act requires “highly effective” age assurance to block children’s access to online pornography and other harmful content, with Ofcom enforcement milestones running through 2025-2026. Australia, meanwhile, implemented the world’s first nationwide ban on under‑16s holding social‑media accounts on December 10, 2025 – a policy the European Parliament endorsed in principle in a non‑binding November 26, 2025 resolution urging a 16‑plus EU‑wide access threshold (with parental consent possible from 13). Commission leaders have said they are studying Australia’s approach as they weigh whether additional EU‑wide obligations, beyond the DSA, will be needed.
U.S. jury verdicts add momentum
The EU actions arrive the same week two U.S. juries delivered landmark verdicts: on March 25, 2026, a Los Angeles jury found Meta and YouTube liable in a bellwether social‑media addiction case brought by a young user; a day earlier, a New Mexico jury imposed a $375 million penalty on Meta over harms to children’s mental health and failures around exploitation risks. Those decisions have amplified global scrutiny of platform design, teen protections and age‑assurance regimes, and are likely to be cited in Brussels as political backing for tougher enforcement.
Regulatory pressure inside Europe is also mounting on other services. The Commission this year alleged TikTok breached the DSA with “addictive design” features that can drive compulsive use by minors, and has ongoing investigations into Facebook and Instagram on child‑safety grounds – signalling that the Snapchat and pornography cases are part of a broader attempt to define, in practice, what “safety by design” means for the next generation of social and content platforms.
What the companies face next
Under the DSA, the Commission can require immediate risk‑reduction steps while cases proceed, accept commitments, or – if violations are confirmed – levy fines up to 6% of global turnover and additional periodic penalties. Snapchat is now under formal investigation with no fixed deadline, and the four adult platforms have received preliminary findings and may submit formal defences before any final decision. Firms that fall short risk not only financial sanctions but also binding obligations to overhaul their products – from how users sign up and prove their age to how recommendation systems surface content to teenagers – with implications for platform governance far beyond Europe’s borders.
