BelgiumDekret über die Mediendienste und die Kinovorstellungen (German-speaking Community), Article 32, obligations of video-sharing platform providers
Dekret vom 1. März 2021 (Deutschsprachige Gemeinschaft), Art. 32
In force since .
An adult content age verification (AV) rule binding private bodies.
As of .
What it requires
- Applies to the provider of a video-sharing platform service established in the German-speaking area of Belgium, or treated as established there because a parent or subsidiary company, or another company of its group, is established there (Article 3(4)).
- Take appropriate measures to protect minors from programmes, user-generated videos and audiovisual commercial communication that could impair their physical, mental or moral development (Article 32(1), point 1).
- Set up and operate, where appropriate, systems to verify the age of the platform's users for content that could impair the physical, mental or moral development of minors (Article 32(3), point 6).
- Provide, where appropriate, parental control systems managed by the end user for that content (Article 32(3), point 8).
- Subject the most harmful content to the strictest access-control measures (Article 32(3)).
- Do not use the personal data of minors collected or obtained for age verification and parental control for commercial purposes such as direct marketing, profiling or advertising based on usage behavior (Article 32(4)).
If you get it wrong
Penalty structure
Article 138, point 4: an administrative fine of up to 25,000 euros, which is set at 5 percent of annual turnover excluding tax where the breach is repeated within five years.
- Rule
- Fixed only
- As of
- Currency
- EUR
- Fixed cap
- 25,000
Who enforces it
Enforcement body
Medienrat der Deutschsprachigen Gemeinschaft (Media Council of the German-speaking Community)
What it reaches
Covered services
Video-sharing platforms whose provider is established in the German-speaking area of Belgium or is treated as established there
Obligation class
Age verification, Access restriction
What this law does
A video-sharing platform provider under the jurisdiction of the German-speaking Community must take appropriate measures to protect minors from programmes, user-generated videos and audiovisual commercial communication that could impair their physical, mental or moral development. Those measures include, where appropriate, systems to verify the age of the platform's users for that content. They also include parental control systems managed by the end user.
The most harmful content is subject to the strictest access-control measures. Personal data of minors collected for age verification and parental control may not be used for commercial purposes such as direct marketing, profiling or behavioral advertising. A video-sharing platform provider not itself established in the German-speaking area is treated as established there when it has a parent or subsidiary company established there or belongs to a group with a company established there.
The Media Council (Medienrat) sets the mechanisms for assessing whether the providers' measures are appropriate. The Media Council can impose an administrative fine of up to 25,000 euros, which is set at 5 percent of annual turnover excluding tax where the breach is repeated within five years. The decree entered into force on the day of its publication in the Belgian State Gazette.
When LexLint raises it
When your app profile says your app publishes adult content or operates a social platform.