Providers of operating systems such as Microsoft, Apple, or Google will in the future have to ensure that they have a "youth protection device". This is intended to ensure that porn filters are installed at the fundamental level of PCs, laptops, smart TVs, game consoles, and smartphones, and that age ratings for websites and apps are introduced. This is stipulated by the latest reform of the Interstate Treaty on the Protection of Minors in the Media (Jugendmedienschutz-Staatsvertrag, JMStV), which the state parliaments passed on Wednesday after Brandenburg relented with the 6th Interstate Media Amendment Treaty.
The core of the JMStV amendment, which has been debated for years and to which the state premiers agreed almost a year ago: End devices that are typically also used by minors should be able to be switched to a child or youth mode by parents with filters at the operating system level at the push of a button. The aim is to protect young people on the internet from age-inappropriate content such as pornography, violence, hate speech, incitement, and misinformation.
The use of common browsers such as Chrome, Firefox, or Safari will only be possible in the special mode if they have "a secure search function" or if an unsecured access is individually and securely enabled. In general, the use of browsers and programs should be able to be "individually and securely excluded". Only apps that have an approved youth protection program or a comparable suitable tool themselves will be accessible regardless of the pre-set age group.
The Commission for Youth Media Protection (KJM) describes the filtering process as a "one-button solution". This should enable parents to "secure devices for age-appropriateness with just one click". The new operating system approach will come into force no later than December 1, 2027. For devices that are already being produced, a transitional period of three years for the implementation of the software device will apply from the announcement of the decision on the applicability of the provision. Devices already on the market whose operating systems are no longer updated will be excluded.
The states also want to prevent the circumvention of blocking orders by erotic portals such as xHamster, Pornhub, YouPorn, or MyDirtyHobby using so-called mirror domains – i.e., the distribution of identical content under a minimally changed web address. For a page to be treated as a mirror page and quickly blocked without a new procedure, it must essentially have the same content as the already blocked original.
Furthermore, the state media authorities can prohibit financial service providers and system operators from conducting payment transactions with providers, even abroad. This will enable media watchdogs, for example, to suspend payment transactions of users of erotic portals via credit card through banks. No action against the content providers themselves is required beforehand. The controllers only need to name the impermissible offers to the payment service providers.
Manufacturers of operating systems, tech associations, and the Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) sharply criticize the draft law. They consider the filtering requirement, in particular, to be technically and practically unfeasible, as well as legally questionable. (wpl)
