European countries will be able to force pornographic websites to verify the age of its users. This is what a historic ruling issued on Tuesday by Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), which supports this imposition with the aim of preventing minors from accessing content for adults.
In a major setback for the industry pornothe highest court of the European Union clarified the legal struggle between Francewhich has imposed age control systems on the Internet, and the Czech companies WebGroup Czech Republic and NKL Associates, which challenged that decision on the grounds that platforms should only be subject to the laws of the State in which they establish their legal headquarters.
The resolution of the case agrees with Paris by establishing that it has the power to exercise this measure and that it applies even when the companies that manage these websites operate in other countries. Furthermore, he points out that porn website operators such as Pornhub, Stripchat, XNXX y XVideos They cannot claim an exemption from liability for content retransmitted or stored by users. Thus, that decision of TWENTY could have severe repercussions for the pornographic sector.
Take “appropriate measures”
Although platforms must comply with the regulations of the State where they have their fiscal headquarters, the court establishes that “before adopting measures of this type, except in cases of urgency” countries such as France must first request the State in which they reside to act to adopt “appropriate measures” and notify the European Commission.
In their ruling, the judges point out that the French obligation to verify the age of Internet users restricts the free circulation of online services, but that this restriction can be justified for reasons of public order such as the protection of minors.
The verdict comes just as Brussels prepares to launch a voluntary application that serves to verify the age of Internet users in order to limit minors’ access to adult content such as pornography or bets. Last March, the community Executive headed by Ursula von der Leyen accused the porn giants of violating European laws by failing to protect minors and threatened them with a MORE millionaire
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