Youth Protection

In the context of erotic and adult productions, youth protection refers to the legal rules that ensure minors do not gain access to pornographic content, as well as the inviolable principle that only adults participate in such productions.

Two sides of the same principle

The first side concerns the audience. In Germany, pornographic content must not be distributed in a way that allows minors to access it. The Criminal Code makes such distribution a criminal offense, while the Interstate Treaty on the Protection of Minors in the Media, adopted by the federal states, regulates the requirements for online services. Such content is only permitted online in closed user groups whose access is secured through reliable age verification.

The second side concerns the participants. Anyone appearing in front of the camera is an adult, without exception and without any discretion. This is not estimated or taken on trust; it is verified and documented using an official photo ID.

What this means for your application

Our rule is: Without a valid identity card or passport, there is neither a casting nor a shoot. A driver’s license is not sufficient. The proof of age is checked before every production, including for people who are obviously considerably older. This is not an accusation, but a procedure that applies equally to everyone.

The same applies to everyone else on set who appears in recordings, including supporting roles and extras without explicit scenes. Anyone whose adulthood cannot be proven has no place at the location of an adult production, not even as a companion in the background. An agency that allows exceptions on this point or only takes a cursory look at IDs puts everyone involved at risk.

In practice, this also means avoiding any staging that suggests minor age, for example through costumes, props, titles, or descriptions. Reputable productions reject such portrayals, and many platforms expressly prohibit corresponding keywords.

Who is liable upon publication

Primary responsibility for complying with distribution rules lies with whoever offers the content: the production, distributor, or platform. However, anyone who publishes their own content as a Creator becomes a provider themselves. Explicit content on freely accessible social media profiles or on your own website without access controls can therefore have legal consequences, even if the recordings themselves were produced entirely lawfully. The Commission for the Protection of Minors in the Media of the state media authorities takes action against such services.

Fan platforms generally handle access control for their paying audience themselves. Preview material on open channels, however, must be designed in a way that does not raise youth-protection concerns.

RTA label and parental controls: what parents can set

porno-casting.net is marked with the RTA label in the source code of every page. RTA stands for “Restricted to Adults”. The label is a machine-readable designation that many parental-control programs and filters evaluate: if such a filter is active, it blocks the page on the relevant device.

Anyone who shares a device or internet connection with minors has several options. A parental-control program recognized by the Commission for the Protection of Minors in the Media (KJM), such as JusProg, can be installed on the computer. Windows, macOS, iOS and Android include their own parental controls, which can block adult content. Many routers and some internet providers also offer a filter for the entire home network. Separate user accounts with passwords also prevent other people in the household from seeing adults’ browsing history or logged-in profiles.

A filter does not replace supervision, but it prevents adult websites from being accessed accidentally. It supplements the obligations of providers described above and does not relieve anyone of them.

Three basic principles for you

• Apply only to agencies and productions that check your ID. Anyone who does not do so is not working carefully.
• Publish explicit material only where the age of the audience is verified.
• Reject portrayals that aim to create a childlike or youthful appearance.

The article Proof of Age and Documentation Requirements on Set explains how ID checks and documentation are carried out on set. If you have questions about your own website, a law firm specializing in media law can help; this entry does not replace legal advice.