In brief: A German higher administrative court on Oct. 9 barred North Rhine-Westphalia’s media regulator from ordering ISPs to block Pornhub and YouPorn, finding the orders likely violate the EU’s Digital Services Act, which leaves enforcement to the sites’ home country.
Contains adult themes: this story covers the adult-content industry.
Germany’s effort to make internet providers block Pornhub and YouPorn has been put on hold, at least for now. The court’s message to the regulator, roughly: this is Cyprus’s job.
On Friday, Oct. 9, the Higher Administrative Court for North Rhine-Westphalia in Münster temporarily barred the state media authority (LfM) from ordering providers to cut off access to the two Aylo sites, XBIZ reported.
The back story
The LfM had ordered Telekom and Vodafone to block the sites for failing to follow German age-verification rules under the Youth Media Protection Interstate Treaty (JMStV). A Düsseldorf court paused that in November pending the higher court’s ruling on whether the treaty clashes with EU law.
The higher court says it likely does. Under the EU’s Digital Services Act, platforms generally answer to the rules of their home member state, and since February 2024 protection of minors online has been regulated uniformly across the EU by the DSA. Per the court’s statement:
The member state in which the respective platform operator has its headquarters is responsible for corresponding supervisory measures.
Not a free pass
The court stressed that the ruling doesn’t let platforms from other EU countries allow minors in Germany to access adult content; it just changes who enforces the rules. Both sites are based in Cyprus. Pornhub, as a “very large online platform” with at least 45 million monthly EU users, is regulated directly by the European Commission, while YouPorn falls to Cypriot authorities.
The same “country of origin” principle shaped age-verification rulings in Italy and France this year, XBIZ noted. In March the Commission preliminarily found Pornhub, Stripchat, XNXX and XVideos in breach of DSA provisions meant to shield minors; those cases are ongoing. The block is paused while those other authorities act, not cancelled.
The German regulator wanted a block. The court handed the matter to Brussels and Cyprus, so the next round of this fight will happen there.