Donation Amount. Min £2

World

On Tuesday, European Commission officials announced the EU's politically independent arm will investigate porn platforms Pornhub, Stripchat, XNXX and XVideos over alleged lapses in protection measures for minors. Photo by Will Oliver/EPA-EFE 
 

The European Commission said Tuesday it will look into major pornography websites in its effort to better protect young people under age 18 from lewd Internet content.

The EU's politically independent executive arm will investigate porn platforms Pornhub, Stripchat, XNXX and XVideos over alleged lapses in its protection measures for minors, European Commission officials announced Tuesday. 

"The online space should be a safe environment for children to learn and connect," said Henna Virkkunen, a Finnish politician and the EC's executive VP of tech sovereignty, security and democracy.

It will center on age verification steps to keep minors away from adult content and will further examine how the porn platforms verify and mitigate risks. 

A European Union official said Thursday during a press briefing that there is concern that current digital systems of self-declaration are not effective, adding that the requested info shows those in charge lack "an effective age verification system in place."

In addition, it also terminated its designation of Stripchat as a "very large online platform" after it reported fewer users than the 45 million-user threshold.

Meanwhile, there is no time limit to conclude a probe under the European bloc's Digital Services Act which can result in a hefty fine up to 6% of a digital porn distributor's global turnover rate. 

Canada-based Pornhub is owned by Aylo Holdings, a subsidiary of private equity firm Ethical Capital Partners, formerly known as MindGeek after Ethical acquired it in March 2023 only to rebrand months later that August.

It arrived as the issue of protection on the Internet for minors has reached the EU's agenda for its 27-member country's and the European Commission.

"We are not excluding future expansion of the proceedings" into other issues under Europe's DSA like illegal ads or other content, an EC official told Politico.

The Commission said individual European national authorities will work hand-in-hand to oversee compliance on smaller porn websites under the Digital Services Board, with another saying local agencies are empowered to open joint investigations and "really kind of put pressure" on smaller pornography platforms.

"Our priority is to protect minors and allow them to navigate safely online," stated Finland's Virkkunen, adding that by working with digital coordinators in member EU states, "we are determined to tackle any potential harm to young online users." By Chris Benson, UPI

Net overall cost of securing Diego Garcia military base for next 99 years is $4.5B, says Keir Starmer

LONDON

Britain signed a deal handing over the sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius on Thursday in exchange for securing a strategically important UK-US military base.

Under the deal, the East African nation gains control of the Chagos Archipelago from the UK, allowing the US and UK to continue operating a strategically important Diego Garcia military base for the next 99 years.

Speaking to reporters following the signing, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that the net overall cost of the deal is £3.4 billion ($4.5 billion).

Stressing the importance of securing the base, he noted that it gives the UK and the US access to "unique and vital capabilities which benefit us directly."

"If we did not agree on this deal, the legal situation would mean that we would not be able to prevent China or any other nation from setting up their own bases on the outer islands, who are carrying out joint exercises near our base," added Starmer.

In the early 19th century, Britain took over the islands after the surrender of the French forces.

Mauritius and its dependencies, including the Chagos Islands, were officially proclaimed a colony of Britain in 1814 under the Treaty of Paris.

The Chagos Archipelago was separated from Mauritius in 1965 by the UK. By Burak Bir, Anadolu Agency

 
 

 

Andrew Bailey, the Bank of England governor, has called for the UK to “rebuild” its trading relationship with the European Union, urging that everything possible be done to strengthen long-term trade ties.

His comments follow this week’s UK-US trade deal, which Bailey hopes will be the first of many steps toward easing global trade tensions.

In an interview with the BBC, Bailey described reversing the decline in UK-EU trade since Brexit as “beneficial,” noting the importance of a closer relationship with the bloc.

“It would be beneficial. Having a more open economy to trade with the European Union. Because there has been a fall-off in goods trade with the EU over recent years,” he said.

The governor stressed the EU’s significance as the UK’s largest trading partner. “It is important we do everything we can to ensure that whatever decisions are taken on the Brexit front do not damage the long-term trade position. So I hope that we can use this to start to rebuild that relationship,” he added.

Bailey also expressed optimism about the broader implications of the UK-US agreement, suggesting it could help restore confidence in the global trading system.

“It demonstrates that trade deals are important. Trade deals can be done, and the trade is important…honestly, it seems an unpromising landscape at times. But I hope that we can use these deals to rebuild the world trading system,” he said.

The UK government is currently in discussions with the EU ahead of a summit later this month, aiming to reset its trade and security relationship with Europe.

According to BBC economics editor Faisal Islam, the key diplomatic win with the UK/US trade deal is that it leaves the UK open to do a full EU deal on the likes of food standards.

“By maintaining UK food standards and not, for example, accepting hormone treated beef or chlorinated chicken, a “full fat” food and farm export deal with the EU, similar to Switzerland’s, is now clearly on the cards in the next fortnight. This could slash post Brexit red tape for key exporters both ways,” said Islam.

“Then you have an overall picture of a growing economy, with good trade relations with the US, EU, India and soon the Gulf too, with rates being cut,” he added. By Gabrielle Pickard-Whitehead, Left Foot Forward

About IEA Media Ltd

Informer East Africa is a UK based diaspora Newspaper. It is a unique platform connecting East Africans at home and abroad through news dissemination. It is a forum to learn together, grow together and get entertained at the same time.

To advertise events or products, get in touch by info [at] informereastafrica [dot] com or call +447957636854.
If you have an issue or a story, get in touch with the editor through editor[at] informereastafrica [dot] com or call +447886544135.

We also accept donations from our supporters. Please click on "donate". Your donations will go along way in supporting the newspaper.

Get in touch

Our Offices

London, UK
+44 7886 544135
editor (@) informereastafrica.com
Slough, UK
+44 7957 636854
info (@) informereastafrica.com

Latest News

Woman condemns Vietnamese husband’s deportation to South Sudan

Woman condemns Vietn...

A woman in Pierce County, Washington state, has expressed outrage after her husband was unexpectedly...

Kenya targets Sh10bn annual earnings from Macadamia as govt commits to sector growth

Kenya targets Sh10bn...

Kindiki outlined the government’s vision to transform the macadamia sub-sector into a major contribu...

Bill Gates to give most of his $200bn fortune to Africa

Bill Gates to give m...

Microsoft founder Bill Gates says that most of his fortune will be spent on improving health and edu...

Let views on Finance Bill count, ex-Senator Billow Kerrow tells government

Let views on Finance...

Former Mandera Senator Billow Kerrow. [Screengrab] Political economist, Billow Kerrow, has urged th...

For Advertisement

Big Reach

Informer East Africa is one platform for all people. It is a platform where you find so many professionals under one umbrella serving the African communities together.

Very Flexible

We exist to inform you, hear from you and connect you with what is happening around you. We do this professionally and timely as we endeavour to capture all that you should never miss. Informer East Africa is simply news for right now and the future.

Quality News

We only bring to you news that is verified, checked and follows strict journalistic guidelines and standards. We believe in 1. Objective coverage, 2. Impartiality and 3. Fair play.

Banner & Video Ads

A banner & video advertisement from our sponsors will show up every once in a while. It keeps us and our writers coffee replenished.