Would have never happened with the FDP in government
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The state media authorities want to force financial service providers to refuse payments to erotic portals such as Pornhub and Youporn – including payments from adults. The legal basis for this is the new Interstate Treaty on the Protection of Minors in the Media (JMStV).
This was explained to the Evangelischer Pressedienst (epd) by the Chairman of the Commission for the Protection of Minors in the Media (KJM), Marc Jan Eumann. “Only if the porn providers lose reach and revenue can we get them to give in when it comes to the protection of minors in the media,” said Eumann, explaining the financial blocks. The state media watchdogs have been taking action against porn sites for five years.
This is based on an enforceable injunction issued in June 2020 by the State Media Authority of North Rhine-Westphalia (LfM) against the platform operator Aylo, which is based in Cyprus, to ensure the protection of minors with stricter age controls. As a result, several media authorities issued blocking orders in 2024. The method of choice is to manipulate the internet’s domain name system (DNS).
New means of dealing with mirror domains
Three administrative courts and two higher administrative courts have now rejected Aylo’s urgent applications to temporarily suspend the DNS blockades and declared the orders to be immediately enforceable. The Rhineland-Palatinate Higher Administrative Court (OVG) recently confirmed that access to Pornhub and Youporn via the provider 1&1 should remain blocked for the time being. DNS blocks are easy for end users to circumvent. Technical tricks also help the operator to keep the portals accessible in Germany.
Until now, providers have often tried to circumvent blockades by using so-called mirror domains, says Eumann. These differ only slightly from the original address. According to the director of the Rhineland-Palatinate Media Authority, the amended JMStV will also make it easier for regulators to take action against these. The highly controversial amendment, which prescribes general porn filters at operating system level, is currently being discussed in the state parliaments and is due to come into force on December 1. Eumann told epd that studies have shown that pornography is more harmful to minors than, for example, non-sexually motivated depictions of violence in a TV thriller.
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Would have never happened with the FDP in government
The state media authorities want to force financial service providers to refuse payments to erotic portals such as Pornhub and Youporn – including payments from adults. The legal basis for this is the new Interstate Treaty on the Protection of Minors in the Media (JMStV).
This was explained to the Evangelischer Pressedienst (epd) by the Chairman of the Commission for the Protection of Minors in the Media (KJM), Marc Jan Eumann. “Only if the porn providers lose reach and revenue can we get them to give in when it comes to the protection of minors in the media,” said Eumann, explaining the financial blocks. The state media watchdogs have been taking action against porn sites for five years.
This is based on an enforceable injunction issued in June 2020 by the State Media Authority of North Rhine-Westphalia (LfM) against the platform operator Aylo, which is based in Cyprus, to ensure the protection of minors with stricter age controls. As a result, several media authorities issued blocking orders in 2024. The method of choice is to manipulate the internet’s domain name system (DNS).
New means of dealing with mirror domains
Three administrative courts and two higher administrative courts have now rejected Aylo’s urgent applications to temporarily suspend the DNS blockades and declared the orders to be immediately enforceable. The Rhineland-Palatinate Higher Administrative Court (OVG) recently confirmed that access to Pornhub and Youporn via the provider 1&1 should remain blocked for the time being. DNS blocks are easy for end users to circumvent. Technical tricks also help the operator to keep the portals accessible in Germany.
Until now, providers have often tried to circumvent blockades by using so-called mirror domains, says Eumann. These differ only slightly from the original address. According to the director of the Rhineland-Palatinate Media Authority, the amended JMStV will also make it easier for regulators to take action against these. The highly controversial amendment, which prescribes general porn filters at operating system level, is currently being discussed in the state parliaments and is due to come into force on December 1. Eumann told epd that studies have shown that pornography is more harmful to minors than, for example, non-sexually motivated depictions of violence in a TV thriller.