German Legislators Take Action, Ban Access To Country’s Largest Adult Site
By Movieguide® Staff
According to Christian nonprofit advocacy organization Exodus Cry, Germany’s Commission for Youth Media Protection agreed to ban its top pornographic site, xHamster.
The enforcement of the network ban came after the adult site refused to integrate age verification.
“Germany’s Commission for Youth Media Protection decided unanimously last week to impose a network ban on xHamster—the most visited porn website in the country,” Exodus Cry wrote on Instagram. “Last year, Germany introduced a new law requiring porn sites to verify the age of their users and this ban is showing that the law will, in fact, be enforced.”
Movieguide® previously reported on August 13, 2021:
In a bold move against pornography, German Child-Protection Regulators announced plans to block access to one of the world’s largest adult sites.
The site [xHamster] refused to implement age-verification checks to prohibit access for users under 18, resulting in its complete ban by the Commission for the Protection of Minors in the Media (Kommission für Jugendmedienschutz in German, or KJM).
According to Wired, the order would mark a turning point in the two-year campaign by regulators to “compel all pornographic websites accessible in Germany to implement age-verification checks.”
Tobias Schmid, who has led Germany’s fight to protect children from sexual abuse and exploitation from adult sites on the legislation front, condemned protesters who called the ban an attack on “freedom of expression.”
“This is not about freedom of expression, but about a business model that uses an illegal practice,” Schmid said.
Exodus Cry notes that Germany’s action could encourage others to enforce age-verification laws.
“Online age verification laws have been difficult to get off the ground, but momentum is picking up,” Exodus Cry wrote. “It’s encouraging to see more and more countries introduce laws to hold porn sites accountable for recklessly feeding kids videos that include incest, rape, and the abuse of children. For too long, these sites have had absolutely no accountability and children are the ones who suffer.
“We’re calling the US to introduce laws that compel all porn sites to require ID-based age verification for its viewers,” the post added. “Every day that there are not protections in place, children are stumbling upon content that is deeply traumatizing them and derailing their lives.”
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