Intimate ad archive: Pornhub taking EU platform requirements to the ECJ

The legal dispute between Pornhub’s parent company aylo and the EU Commission is entering the next round. In December, the Brussels government institution classified the erotic portals Pornhub, Stripchat and Xvideos as very large online platforms subject to special due diligence obligations under the Digital Services Act (DSA). XNXX recently became the fourth porn site on this list. aylo is now appealing against the respective designation before the European Court of Justice (ECJ). The company, based in Montreal, Canada, primarily wants to avoid the disclosure of real names from its advertising directory as required by the DSA.

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The DSA means that operators of very large platforms must carry out risk assessments and mitigate identified threats, for example to democracy, public safety, fundamental rights and the protection of minors. For Pornhub & Co., this means preventing minors from accessing pornographic online content, for example with age verification tools. The rules also require operators to share information about their data and algorithms with authorities, researchers and civil society organizations so that they can review their operations. The publication of advertising records is also required.

In its appeal, iLo (formerly MindGeek) requested an exemption from the requirement to reveal the real names of advertisers on Pornhub. A company spokesman said Unlike the Euractiv portal. This also included sex workers and porn actors, who could be immediately found in a publicly accessible archive. This would put the safety of the entire community at risk. On the other hand, the Commission considers transparency in advertising to be of utmost importance for consumers and companies.

Data security just an excuse?

“Employee protection is very important,” Alessandro Polidoro, a legal expert at the civil society association Digital Intimacy Coalition, told Euractiv. Aiello probably wants to use this as an excuse to delay the application of the DSA. Most of Pornhub’s advertising revenue does not come from individual performers or natural persons. The ECJ could also determine whether performer names can be used in advertising collections.

The lower court, the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECC), rejected Aylo’s request for an injunction against the publication of advertiser data. According to the expert service MLX as early as July 4. The argument was that postponing this requirement could undermine the EU’s objectives under the DSA and change the competitive landscape, causing potential financial damage to Pornhub. With similar arguments, the ECJ rejected Amazon’s urgent application against the DSA classification in March: according to it, the interim legal protection sought would delay the entry into force of the Platform Act “potentially by several years”.

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