GermanyJugendmedienschutz-Staatsvertrag (JMStV, Interstate Treaty on the Protection of Minors in the Media), Sections 12-12b, operating system youth protection device (Jugendschutzvorrichtung)
JMStV Secs. 12 12a and 12b, inserted by the Sechster Medienaenderungsstaatsvertrag (Sixth Interstate Treaty Amending Media Law Treaties), treaty in force 2025-12-01; transition rules in JMStV Sec. 25
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Commencement not set.
An app store age verification (AV) rule binding private bodies.
As of 16 July 2026.
What this law does
Drafted with AI from the cited sources under the direction of UnGovr staff. UnGovr holds editorial responsibility for this page.
Requires providers of operating systems commonly used by children and adolescents, as determined by the KJM, to equip their systems with a youth protection device (Jugendschutzvorrichtung) that can be activated, deactivated and adjusted in a simple, easily accessible and secured way and in which a child's age can be set.
Once an age is set, the operating system must restrict browsing to search engines with a secured search function, allow app installation only from distribution platforms whose apps carry a machine readable age label from a KJM recognized automated rating system, and make only age appropriate apps usable unless individually unlocked by the parent.
Under Section 25 these duties apply one year after the KJM publishes its determination of the covered operating systems, which is itself due within one year of the treaty's 1 December 2025 entry into force, so at the latest from 1 December 2027, extended to at most three years for operating systems in a current or completed production cycle, with non updatable systems on devices already sold exempt.
If you get it wrong
Private right of actionNo
Penalties
Administrative fines (Ordnungswidrigkeit) of up to 2,000,000 euros for providing an operating system without a compliant youth protection device (JMStV Sec. 24(1) nos. 11-24 and Sec. 24(3))
Who enforces it
Enforcement body
Kommission fuer Jugendmedienschutz (KJM) and the Landesmedienanstalten (state media authorities)
What it reaches
Covered services
Operating systems of end devices (smartphones, consoles, smart TVs and other devices enabling access to telemedia) commonly used by children and adolescents in Germany, plus the app distribution platforms and apps that must read and respect the device age setting
Verification methods
Device signal, Parental consent
When LexLint raises it
operates_app_store
Read the law
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