The EU General Court has dismissed Stripchat's lawsuit challenging its designation as a very large online platform under the Digital Services Act, according to a report by Channel NewsAsia. The Luxembourg-based court sided with the European Commission. The adult streaming site now stays on the DSA's strictest compliance tier.

Who decided, and for whom?

The General Court of the Court of Justice of the European Union delivered the ruling. It dismissed the challenge brought by Stripchat against the European Commission. The Commission had designated the platform a VLOP (very large online platform — the DSA category for services reaching at least 45 million monthly EU users). That designation triggered the heaviest obligations in the regulation, including independent audits and risk assessments.

Think of the DSA as a three-tier escalator. Small platforms face basic duties. Large ones face more. VLOPs face everything — like a food-safety regime where only the biggest factories get full-time inspectors.

What does the ruling change?

For Stripchat, the practical consequence is simple. It remains a VLOP. It must keep meeting the full set of DSA obligations, which carry significant compliance costs and supervisory scrutiny from the Commission.

For other designated platforms, the judgment is a signal. The court has now shown it won't easily unwind the Commission's VLOP decisions. Platforms unhappy with their status face an uphill fight in Luxembourg.

For practitioners, the takeaway is twofold. First, challenges to VLOP designations need strong evidence on user numbers or the Commission's methodology — good faith disagreement won't do. Second, clients in the designated tier should budget for compliance as a fixed cost, not a contingency.

Why does the VLOP label matter so much?

The DSA (Digital Services Act, Regulation (EU) 2022/2065) sorts platforms by reach. The VLOP threshold is 45 million average monthly active EU users. Cross it, and the Commission can designate you. Designation brings duties that ordinary platforms never see: annual independent audits, systemic-risk assessments, data access for researchers.

Stripchat argued it shouldn't sit in that tier. The General Court disagreed and dismissed the case. The company's remaining option is an appeal to the Court of Justice, on points of law only, within the usual time limits.

What's the wider picture?

The Commission has designated a broad roster of VLOPs — search engines and social networks alongside video and streaming services. Stripchat was among the adult-industry platforms swept into the regime. Its challenge was a test of whether that sweep would hold.

It held. The ruling reinforces the Commission's hand as it polices the largest platforms. Expect designated companies to keep litigating individual DSA decisions — but they now know the burden they carry into court.