BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) — The European Union on Thursday told three pornographic websites to explain what steps they have taken to protect children online and prevent the spread of illegal content.

Since April the sites — Pornhub, Stripchat and XVideos — face stricter rules as they come under the EU’s powerful content moderation law that seeks to protect users online, especially minors.

The European Commission demanded information about what action they have taken “to diligently assess and mitigate risks related to the protection of minors online”.

It wants to know how they prevent the spread of gender-based violence and how the adult sites ensure their users are over 18, it said in a statement.

It also wants information about the companies’ “internal organisation to ensure compliance” with the content law, known as the Digital Services Act (DSA).

The commission stressed that, under the DSA, the companies must have “independent and well-resourced internal teams with sufficient authority and resources”.

The websites have until July 4 to provide the information.

They are among 24 platforms deemed to be “very large” in terms of the number of monthly users in the EU. Others in the category are Facebook, TikTok and X.

The DSA imposes tougher rules on them, such as requiring them to act quickly to remove harmful content.

The commission’s request for information does not presuppose further action being taken but it is the first step in a procedure that could lead to an investigation.

Platforms face fines for DSA violations running up to six percent of a platform’s global turnover, or even a ban in egregious cases.