Part One - DE & LU AVMSD Art. 28

AVMSD Art. 28(b)

It obliges Member States to ensure Video Sharing Platforms (VSP) adopt appropriate measures to:

• Protect minors from harmful content,

• Protect the public from illegal content (terrorism, racism/xenophobia, CSAM)

• Manage audiovisual commercial communications responsibly

What measures does Art. 28b mention?

• Age‑verification systems

• Parental controls

• Reporting/flagging mechanisms

• Complaint systems

• Content rating / classification

Who supervises compliance with AVMSD in MS?

The national regulatory authority (NRA) ensures VSPs take appropriate measures and may promote codes of conduct.

What is a VSP?

Defined in Art. 1(1)(aa) AVMSD: a service where essential functionality is to provide user-generated videos/programmes to the public without editorial responsibility.

Do Member States invent their own VSP definition?

No. They must apply the EU definition. They only determine jurisdiction (Art. 28a).

What is NOT sufficient age verification for many MS?

Self‑declaration (typing in a birthdate) is not acceptable in many MS; more robust systems are required

Article 6(1) AVMSD

Requires Member States to ensure that media services that may impair the physical, mental, or moral development of minors are only made available so they will not "normally hear or see them".

What is the Luxembourgish NRA?

ALIA

How did Luxembourg transpose Art. 28(b)?

added to existing 1991 Electronic Media Act, amended in 2021

What measures does Luxembourg rely on?

• Age‑verification tools

• Time‑selection or technical access‑restriction tools

• Parental‑control‑related regulations
  (All defined later by Grand‑Ducal regulation.)

What is ALIAs role?

• Verify VSPs’ “appropriate measures”

• Encourage codes of conduct

• Handle out‑of‑court procedures (procedure set by regulation)

How strict is Luxembourg’s regulation?

It is administrative‑supervisory: ALIA checks compliance; detailed technical rules are delegated to future Grand‑Ducal regulations

What are the main German laws transcribing the AVMSD?

• JMStV (Interstate Treaty on Protection of Minors in the Media)

• JuSchG (Protection of Young Persons Act)

• NetzDG (Network Enforcement Act)

What does the Interstate Treaty on the protection of Minors require from VSPs?

• Age‑verification systems for harmful content (“closed user groups”)

• Technical safeguards (parent‑controlled filters)

• Classification of harmful vs. development‑impairing content

What is Germany’s enforcement logic?

• Illegal content → removed (linked to criminal code)

• Harmful content → strict access control systems

• Germany is rule‑based and criminal‑law anchored.

What is the indexing system under the Protection of Young Persons Act?

The BzKJ maintains a list of media harmful to minors (“index”)

BPjM Module

A blacklist (not a filter) created by BPjM + FSM, used by filtering software and German search engines to block harmful indexed sites.

What does NetzDG add?

Complaint mechanisms + rapid removal (24h) for illegal content.

Who develops long-term protection measures?

The BPjM department for “Advancement of Protection of Minors” → cooperation between government, industry, civil society.

Germany v. Luxembourg

Germany: Criminal‑law‑anchored, strict AV + filters + indexing.
Luxembourg: Administrative oversight by ALIA, technical details via future regulations.

AVMSD and minimum harmonisation

minimum‑harmonisation directive, meaning MS must meet the minimum standards of Art. 28b but may go beyond them with stricter national rules (e.g., stricter AV, stricter classification).

What does Art. 28b prohibit NRAs from doing?

Measures must not include ex ante content control or upload filtering (mirroring the e‑Commerce Directive ban).
Luxembourg explicitly includes this in its transposition context: measures must be appropriate, proportionate, and not involve upload‑filtering

Why do VSPs usually fail in age verification?

Large VSPs often rely mainly on self‑declared age (age‑gating), which many MS consider insufficient under Art. 28b(3)(f).

Why is parental control linked to content classification?

Parental controls only work if content is classified or labelled.
Many MS therefore impose age‑rating systems or require VSPs to provide content warnings

What is the role of co and self-regulating?

Art. 28b encourages co‑regulation and self‑regulatory codes to support protection measures (e.g., industry codes on reporting, labelling, commercial communications).
Luxembourg’s ALIA and Germany’s regulators both use this approach

Age of digital consent in LU and DE?

16 - in line with the GDPR