Cyprus role in Pornhub oversight raised in European Parliament

An Irish MEP has asked the European Commission to explain who is responsible for policing pornographic websites that are based in Cyprus and Ireland, as Brussels investigates whether the sites do enough to keep children out. Cynthia Ni Mhurchu, of the Renew Europe group, wishes to know which duties fall to the Cypriot authorities and which to the Irish, how they work together and what protections exist for children. The question matters as Pornhub’s operator has companies in both countries, with Aylo Freesites Ltd based in Cyprus, while Aylo Billing Limited is based in Ireland. The question comes as the Commission pursues a formal case against four of the biggest adult sites. On March 26 it said that Pornhub, Stripchat, XNXX and XVideos had, on first examination, broken the EU’s digital services act, which sets online safety rules for large platforms. Pornhub and Stripchat are both based in Cyprus, the latter in Limassol. The Commission said the four firms “did not diligently identify and assess the risks that their platforms pose to minors”. Its main complaint was that anyone could enter by clicking a button to confirm they were over 18, that, it said, is not “an effective measure”. Blurred images, warnings and “adults only” labels were also judged too weak to stop children accessing pornography. It said the sites “need to implement privacy preserving age verification measures”, meaning checks that confirm a user’s age without exposing personal details. The Commission also said the companies had put their own reputations ahead of child safety, with risk assessments that “disproportionately emphasised business-centric concerns”. These are early findings, not final rulings, and the companies can read the Commission’s evidence and reply in writing. If the European Board for Digital Services backs the findings, the Commission can order the sites to comply and impose fines of up to 6 per cent of a company’s worldwide yearly turnover. The Commission names Cyprus as the home country of the national regulator for Pornhub, which is the Radio, Television and Digital Services Authority. A database run by the European Audiovisual Observatory lists Aylo Freesites Ltd as the provider of nine adult video services under Cypriot jurisdiction. They include Pornhub, RedTube, YouPorn and Tube8, and names Ethical Capital Partners as the ultimate owner. Aylo Freesites Ltd also faces scrutiny in Britain, for on September 22 the regulator Ofcom opened an investigation into whether the age checks Pornhub introduced in May work properly, including tools supplied by outside firms. The Commission’s reply to Ni Mhurchu is expected to set out how responsibility is split between Cyprus and Ireland, and what powers EU institutions have when firms behind one platform operate in different countries.