Report from Euractiv
In Brief – The European Commission has announced that it has launched a formal investigation of four major pornographic websites over concerns that they are violating the Digital Services Act (DSA) by failing to provide adequate protection for minors, especially falling short regarding age verification. According to the Commission, all four sites, designated as Very Large Online Platforms under the DSA, currently use simple click-through age checks, which the Commission suspects fail to meet the law’s requirements. Authorities will primarily focus on assessing whether the platforms have conducted proper risk assessments and implemented safeguards to protect children’s mental and physical health. The Commission added that the concern is a priority that extends beyond the largest pornography sites and that it will collaborate with the Digital Services Coordinators in the EU member states to monitor how smaller adult sites, that fall under the DSA’s threshold for Very Large Online Platforms, address the issue. The Commission also reiterated plans to roll out a standardized EU-wide age verification system by the end of next year.
Context – Efforts to regulate online platforms to “protect” teenagers is a growing global phenomenon. Each is a step towards widespread online age verification. Porn is consistently a top target. France is requiring age verification for porn sites. And this DSA action looks to be doing the same. In the US, Texas has done it as well. A challenge to Texas’s law requiring age verification for online porn is under review by the US Supreme Court. But social media is increasingly facing similar demands. France and Texas are both considering age limits. The UK digital platform regulator has announced a “Children’s Code” of rules for “risky” online sites including social media platforms. It calls for “highly effective” age checks to identify users under age 18. Countries across Asia are actively considering online age limits, and Australia has set a firm social media minimum age of 16 for sites besides YouTube. Privacy advocates oppose this trend.