According to a report by the news portal eRecht24, which specializes in law and legal matters, the German advertising industry is facing imminent trouble. The Interstate Treaty on the Protection of Minors in the Media (JMStV), which comes into force in September, could lead to a virtual ban on online advertising for pornographic content in Germany. According to the Bundesverband Erotik Handel (German Erotic Trade Association), this would bring about a massive discrimination of German companies compared to foreign providers.
Up to now, advertising for pornographic portals and pornographic offers were permitted as long as they were not considered harmful to minors and the offers in question remained inaccessible to minors and protected by identity card age verification through IDs.
The new version of the Interstate Treaty on the Protection of Minors in the Media could, however, lead to a situation where advertising for pornographic offerings may only be viewed by adult users.
This would mean that pornographic providers could only advertise their offers in areas of the internet that are protected by age verification. From the point of view of the erotic industry, this would be equivalent to a complete ban on advertising for the industry.
eRecht24 writes: »The Bundesverband Erotik Handel e. V. pointed out that the new law does not only affect porn sites. It also affects the stationary retail sector, which also advertises its offers on the web. The porn industry itself feels disadvantaged in comparison to providers from abroad. Because: the JMStV does not apply there. This means that porn sites such as Pornhub and YouPorn do not have to comply with any inspection requirements. Users can access the portals without any barriers.«
The text of the law has already been approved by the individual head of federal states, now the individual states only have to approve it in their parliaments. This is considered a formality. It can, therefore, be assumed that the project in its current version will come into force in September.
Further information about the Bundesverband Erotik Handel, which is also exhibiting every year at the VENUS Berlin question, can be found on the association’s website.