The Italian DPA, the Garante Privacy, recently requested clarification from MG Freesites Ltd, the Cypriot company that manages Pornhub, regarding the Italian version of the site.
Specifically, the Garante asked MG Freesites to shed light on several aspects of its online activity:
- Does Pornhub track users? If so, in what ways and for what purposes?
- What is the legal basis for their use of cookies and what data is collected? What information is given prior to the attainment of consent?
- Is the data collected shared with third parties? If yes, are users informed through a privacy policy?
- What measures are taken to verify the age of users?
The Garante’s investigation began after a complaint filed by #StopDataPorn, a European initiative that aims to address the exploitative practices of porn platforms, like Pornhub.
According to #StopDataPorn, these platforms have access to an incredible amount of sensitive data (such as users’ sexual preferences) but do not comply with the principle of transparency of the GDPR.
The Garante had given MG Freesites Ltd 20 days to respond to its requests. To date, MG Freesites’ response or otherwise is not official. However, two new banners have appeared on Pornhub: one to collect cookie consent, the other for age verification.
What are cookie consent requirements in Europe?
One of the main problems with Pornhub was the lack of a button that allowed users to accept or reject all cookies. In fact, the platform merely informed users of its use of cookies but did not allow them to opt out of the tracking.
According to the Cookie Law and the GDPR, a website that is accessible to European users must comply with specific requirements. We’ve summarized them below:
Display a cookie banner informing your users of your use of cookies. The banner must allow them to accept or reject the tracking.
Provide for granular consent in the second layer, allowing users to specify which types of cookies they accept or reject.
Block all non-exempt cookies until the user has given their explicit consent.
Keep a record of user preferences to demonstrate your compliance with GDPR.
How to comply with cookie consent requirements
The easiest way to comply with all these requirements is to use a solution that allows you to align your site with the most stringent regulations automatically.
iubenda’s Privacy Controls and Cookie Solution does just that: you only need to provide your location and the location of your users, and your cookie banner will be automatically configured in minutes.
In addition, our solution allows you to manage cookie consent requirements across the board:
- create a cookie policy;
- block cookies before consent;
- collect granular consent;
- store your users’ preferences.