Due to alleged measurement errors: porn platforms report massively fewer users
Porn portals claim that far fewer people are using their services than previously assumed. They cite more precise measurement methods as the reason, but it could also be a strategy to avoid the obligations of the Digital Services Act in the EU.
Since December 2023, respectively July 2024, the four porn platforms "XNXX", "XVideos", "Pornhub" and "Stripchat" have been classified as "very large online platforms" (VLOP) in the EU. Platforms receive this title under the Digital Services Act (DSA) if they have more than 45 million users per month. They are then obliged, among other things, to take measures to protect minors.
In the case of porn platforms, for example, this means that they must make it more difficult for children to access the platform. For example, by means of age verification. This involves technical effort and costs. Age verification also seems to deter many users. The number of monthly users of "XVideos" already fell significantly last year: from 150 million to 84 million.
In the February 2025 report, three of the four platforms now have such a low number of users that they theoretically no longer qualify as "VLOP". Once again, the loss is particularly significant for the "XVideos" portal. The number of visitors fell from 84 million to just 31 million users in the EU. "Pornhub" and "Stripchat" also only have around 20-26 million monthly users - around half of the VLOP limit. XNXX reported a decline from 77 to 46 million users.
The portals cite a more precise measurement method as the reason for the latest development. In the past, the incognito mode of browsers led to massive multiple counting because many people sometimes visited the site with and sometimes without the mode. Around 40 per cent of all users behaved in this way, according to XVideos. However, more precise calculations are now possible.
VLOP status does not expire automatically
Since only "XNXX" now officially qualifies as a "VLOP", the platform would theoretically be the only one that would still have to adhere to the DSA obligations. This would please the other platform operators: These have resisted the new regulations in the past and doubt the EU Commission's calculation methods. The platforms have already taken legal action against the categorisation as "VLOP". Against this backdrop, the sudden alleged decline in users seems striking to say the least.
However, the "VLOP status" will not be released that easily. The EU Commission states that a platform whose user numbers permanently fall below the 45 million mark can be exempted from the VLOP classification. However, only after a separate review.
Header image: Shutterstock
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I've been tinkering with digital networks ever since I found out how to activate both telephone channels on the ISDN card for greater bandwidth. As for the analogue variety, I've been doing that since I learned to talk. Though Winterthur is my adoptive home city, my heart still bleeds red and blue.
