Germany Moves Closer to Blocking Payments to AV-Noncompliant Adult Sites

Germany is advancing toward implementing regulations that would prohibit financial institutions from providing payment services to adult websites deemed to have inadequate age verification (AV) systems. Additionally, the proposed rules would facilitate government action against websites that mirror the content of such sites.

In December, the heads of government of the German federal states agreed on proposed amendments to Germany’s Interstate Treaty on the Protection of Human Dignity and Minors in Broadcasting and Telemedia. These amendments are expected to receive official approval in March before being presented to the German state parliaments for ratification.

Background and Ongoing Efforts

As reported by XBIZ in 2023, Germany’s Broadcasting Commission of the Federal States initially proposed these amendments, citing the protection of minors as their primary objective. The proposal follows a persistent campaign against adult sites led by Tobias Schmid, head of the State Media Authority of North Rhine-Westphalia. Schmid’s efforts previously resulted in network blocks on major adult platforms such as xHamster and Pornhub.

However, some German legal experts have questioned whether the country’s media regulators have the jurisdiction to impose restrictions on foreign-based adult sites.

Proposed Content Filtering and Industry Response

In addition to payment restrictions, the amendments introduce sweeping new content filtering requirements. These mandates would enforce filtering at the operating system (OS) level, based on age labeling by websites and apps. Any site or app failing to comply with these labeling requirements would be automatically blocked when filtering is activated.

Major tech companies, including Microsoft and Google, have strongly opposed these provisions, arguing that they are impractical, infeasible, and incompatible with European Union (EU) laws. The German tech news outlet Heise Online has urged the European Commission to intervene.

EU Concerns and Legal Challenges

In July 2024, the European Commission warned the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs that the proposed regulations conflict with the Digital Services Act (DSA), existing EU legislation designed to govern "illegal and harmful" online content. The Commission emphasized that the DSA already includes provisions addressing age verification concerns.

Marko Dörre, a German attorney specializing in the adult industry, condemned the amendments, stating, "This is a huge attack on the adult entertainment industry. German lawmakers have lost all sense of proportion."

Performer, director, and sex work activist Paulita Pappel echoed these concerns, telling XBIZ, "Instead of pursuing effective, cooperative solutions, these measures weaponize child protection as a pretext to discriminate against and criminalize the adult industry. Our repeated attempts to engage in constructive dialogue with these institutions have been ignored, underscoring their lack of genuine interest in protecting children. Instead, their actions suggest a singular focus on dismantling an industry they fundamentally oppose, regardless of its legal and ethical adherence to existing regulations."

Future Implications

While the OS-level filtering provisions are facing strong opposition from influential stakeholders, it remains uncertain whether successful resistance to these elements would also prevent the enforcement of payment and content mirroring restrictions specifically targeting adult sites. The coming months will be crucial in determining the regulatory landscape for Germany’s adult industry and whether these controversial amendments will ultimately be ratified and enforced.