As representatives of the digital industry in Germany and across Europe, Bitkom and ZVEI took the opportunity to comment on the legislative initiative - the amendment of the Youth Media Protection State Treaty (Jugendmedienschutzstaatsvertrag - JMStV), initiating the TRIS Notification procedure (TRIS Notification 2024/0188/DE).
Bitkom and ZVEI believe that the notified draft creates greater fragmentation within the European digital single market.
The regulation negatively affects the free movement of goods and unduly restricts the freedom to provide information society services and audiovisual media services. The national obligations resulting from the draft law undermine acknowledged international standards of youth media protection and European law by systematically neglecting the ‘country-of-origin principle’ established by the eCommerce Directive (eCD) and Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD).
Next to general concerns of compatibility with European law, the draft law creates technical barriers by establishing a diverging age classification system and by imposing country-specific technical obligations on all types of operating system providers, such as mobile OS, PC operating systems, TV´s and other electronic devices, that might be used by minors.
The introduction of new country-specific requirements will lead to a patchwork of regulations and different youth media protection approaches, disregarding the objective to raise standards of greater youth media protection across Europe. We urge the European Commission to take notice of the countervailing impact that such a law poses towards the objective of protecting children and minors across Europe.
