Cullen has just published a new benchmark with an overview of the European countries which have adopted (or are in the process of adopting) initiatives to control or restrict the exposure of minors to harmful content on social media and other platforms (in particular those that host adult content).

The research shows that five out of the 14 countries covered (Germany, France, Ireland, Italy and the UK) have specific rules in place, or are in the process of adopting special rules to protect minors from exposure to harmful content (such as pornography or violence).

In these countries, rules apply to online platforms in the widest sense (including user-generated content platforms, video-sharing platforms, social media, search engines and online marketplaces) but also in some cases, to other types of service providers, such as providers of operating systems.

It also shows that in France and Germany, media regulators have recently started to enforce the rules by launching actions against platforms hosting pornographic content. These platforms (such as Pornhub, xHamster, Twitter and YouPorn) are established in other EU countries (Cyprus and Ireland).

The actions formally warn platforms that they are in breach of their national rules on the protection of minors, or ask courts to issue orders against internet access service providers to block access to these websites because they failed to put in place technical systems to ensure that users are above 18.

For more information and access to the benchmark, please click on “Access the full content” - or on “Request Access”, in case you are not subscribed to our European Media service.