Up until now, it has been a tiresome issue when it comes to protecting young people on the internet, and gaming websites in particular have become the target of self-proclaimed youth protection advocates who are bothered by the content of trailers and screenshots.
In its meeting on May 15, the Commission for the Protection of Minors in the Media (KJM) fully approved the youth protection programs of the JusProg association and Deutsche Telekom for age-restricted content up to the age of 18. This does not include content harmful to minors or that is otherwise illegal. Previously, the approval only applied to content up to the age of 16.
“We are delighted with this decision”“That’s what Thomas Friedmann, Chairman of the Board of GAME, the German Federal Association of the Computer Games Industry, says. Claas Oehler, Managing Director for Legal and Regulatory Affairs, explains the advantages of the recognition: "Effective youth protection is now possible without providers having to maintain their own technical systems, as was previously the case. Parents can use such a recognized youth protection program to more effectively protect their children online, differentiated by age. Providers also benefit: they are no longer dependent on the so-called ID verification process or the anachronistic "broadcast time restrictions" if they make the content they offer readable for youth protection programs with the appropriate electronic label. This also eliminates a competitive disadvantage for German providers, because the previous systems, due to their cumbersome operation, also deterred adult users. Youth protection programs also cover foreign content. From June 2013 onwards, simply integrating an appropriate "Age-de.xml" file into the website is sufficient to offer online games in compliance with the law."
All pages of the PlayFront Network are already equipped with the required age verification (18+) and cannot be accessed by parents if the software is configured accordingly.
What does this mean for you in the future? We are no longer required to restrict videos and trailers with a USK 18 rating to specific times and only make them accessible after 23 PM. All videos are now freely accessible and can be watched at any time of day.
However, we must still remove content that is indexed or confiscated in Germany from our websites.
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