Because there is illegal content on the website that has not yet been removed despite repeated warnings, the porn portal “xHamster” is now threatened with a ban in Germany. Specifically, it is about the disregard for the protection of children and young people, as Tobias Schmid, Director of the State Agency for Media North Rhine-Westphalia, explains: “At xHamster we have a final decision against which no legal remedies are possible.”
This step does not come overnight: the website has so far refused to communicate with the supervisory authority. After the portal still made no move to make the offer legal, the authorities are now serious: “We have informed you of the fact that there is illegal content in your networks that must be blocked and you are currently listening to it on. Then we decide. “
xHamster takes the view that a network block is “far from an optimal solution”. In response to a request from the German Press Agency, the company recently “was ready to work with the German authorities”. At the moment, age checks are the only way to avoid being banned. A special technology is to be used for this, but this has to be “industry-wide”, demand the operators of xHamster.
According to the current status, only Germany should be affected by the possible ban. It is currently unclear whether the site will also be blocked in Austria in the event of a conviction.
