The EU General Court has upheld the designation of Stripchat as a Very Large Online Platform (VLOP) under the Digital Services Act. The Luxembourg-based court dismissed the adult streaming platform's challenge to the European Commission's classification decision. The ruling confirms that Stripchat must continue to comply with the DSA's most demanding obligations.

The General Court, the EU's second-highest tribunal, delivered the judgment in Luxembourg. At issue was the Commission's decision to designate Stripchat a VLOP. Under Article 33(4) of the Digital Services Act, the Commission may confer that status on platforms reaching 45 million monthly active users in the Union. VLOP designation triggers duties on risk assessment, transparency reporting, and independent audits.

Stripchat had contested the designation. The platform argued it did not meet the user threshold the Commission applied. The court disagreed. It found the Commission acted within its powers when it classified the platform at the top tier of DSA obligations.

What does the ruling change?

The practical consequence is straightforward. Stripchat stays on the VLOP register. It must keep performing the annual systemic risk assessments the DSA demands of the largest platforms. It must also grant researcher access to data and submit to independent audits.

For practitioners, the judgment tightens the perimeter around Commission designation decisions. Platforms weighing a challenge now face a live precedent. The General Court has signalled it will defer to the Commission's user-count methodology where the agency documents its figures. Advisory teams should treat this case as a marker: litigation over VLOP status is an uphill fight.

Why the DSA threshold matters

The DSA's two-tier structure separates ordinary platforms from the giants. The 45 million monthly active users figure marks the line. Cross that line and the compliance burden shifts sharply upward. The Commission has designated more than twenty platforms and search engines as VLOPs or VLSOs since the regime took effect.

Stripchat's case is one of the first substantive tests of that designation power. Its outcome matters beyond the adult-content sector. Any platform near the threshold now knows the court will not lightly second-guess Brussels. Takeaway: the Commission's counting method survived its first real court scrutiny, and designated platforms should plan around the obligations rather than against them.

The judgment may still be appealed to the Court of Justice within two months and ten days of notification. No indication of an appeal has appeared so far. For now, the designation stands and the obligations bind.