Porn filters in all operating systems set by German states create new dangers rather than better protection for minors. Tech companies and associations complain about this. They criticize that existing solutions to protect children and young people are being weakened. At the same time, they fear incompatibilities with European law. The EU Commission should intervene.
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The core of the JMStV reform: End devices such as smartphones, laptops and PCs, which are commonly used by people under 18, can be set to child or youth mode by parents by pressing a button with a filter at the operating system level. Must be set. Protecting children from things that are not age-appropriate, protecting content such as porn, violence, hatred, hate speech and misinformation on the Internet.
“Microsoft has been providing a powerful youth safety solution with Family Safety for many years,” a company spokesperson told Heise Online. “For us, it is important that JMStV supports the development of appropriate solutions based on the practical needs of parents and children. We have therefore actively participated in the legislative process with statements and discussions and have addressed problems in technical implementation. We also continue to have a constructive dialogue with politicians as well as with the supervisory authorities and responsible self-regulators.”
“Safe Search Function” is required
in one Position paper to the European Union The Windows maker reported in July: The requirements caused fragmentation within the community because they imposed Germany-specific obligations. This runs contrary to the goal of promoting a cohesive digital market across all Member States. There are challenges in implementing the JMStV from “technical, legal and practical perspectives”.
AI and GDPR: EU data protection officers agree on a common pointMicrosoft says operating systems should generally have a youth protection tool that is JMSTV compliant. Furthermore, “apps” will be extensively regulated. In common usage, it will refer to all types of software applications. However, the JMStV authors apparently assumed a narrow understanding when they pointed to programs that “serve to directly control the content of a program or telemedia.” What this means can only be understood from streaming apps and browsers. In principle, today even basic functional applications such as PDF readers or office packages have the ability to access content from the Internet. Such an interpretation of the term “would give rise to major practical problems, especially in the PC field.”
According to Microsoft, this proposed obligation for a “safe search function” in the browser when protection mode is activated raises many questions. Since the term is not defined at all, operating system providers bear the risk of deciding “whether a search engine provides a mechanism that would be legally sufficient under this regulation.” What would be needed for the German market would be a blacklist for a wide range of search engines, including metasearch.
Heavy overblocking of downloads
In general, if the child protection feature is activated, installation of apps should only be possible through sales platforms that comply with JMSTV. According to Microsoft, the authors apparently had primarily mobile operating systems in mind, where the App Store is typically the central or even the only intended installation path for software. However, for other end device categories – notably PCs – this is “not the rule.” Such a store doesn’t even exist on Linux. The same applies to age labels for software, which are “practically non-existent” in the PC sector for programs that can be installed freely from the Internet or via data storage media.
The American company emphasizes that the user experience in the PC sector has always included the expectation of being able to obtain additional applications independently of the Internet. For example, Windows “has traditionally been designed as an open operating system that supports the installation of software from the Internet through a browser.” Furthermore, the vast majority of the software landscape in the PC sector is only available as free installations. This applies to the entire range of offers that are neutral for the protection of minors, such as image editing programs or system programs, as well as offers specific to children and youth, including learning platforms or translation offers.
On PC, this regulation effectively almost completely blocks the main installation path for software when the parental controls function is activated, or at least leads to massive overblocking, according to Microsoft. Criticizes. Many applications “which are essential for the daily use of the PC or even system-critical and at the same time completely unproblematic from the point of view of youth media security” are affected. This will almost certainly lead to basic approval problems: parents will be allowed to lift this block individually or disable the child protection device altogether.
Microsoft sees further inconsistencies regarding the Digital Markets Act (DMA): the new EU competition rules are, among other things, about acquiring software through different channels. The age classifications used so far would first have to be formally recognized through IARC, which would create a legal hurdle.
Microsoft is working on another regulation that forces operating system providers to maintain an external “age interface”. This requires that “the age information must be readable in the operating system”. Application providers with their own security solutions will be obliged to read this age-related information and “play out” only appropriate offers. But there is no technical standardization for this. Attackers can also use such interfaces to specifically identify end devices of children or youth. From an IT security perspective, this is unacceptable.
Google and FSFE: do not understand the amendment
Google points to one Statement to states from 2022“Apps in the Store are marked with an age rating,” the makers of Android and ChromeOS write. Such applications can already be filtered at the operating system level according to predetermined age levels. The most significant content providers have also developed state-recognized youth protection programs. “It is incomprehensible why these diverse viewpoints should be countered by a complex realignment of state treaties,” Google wonders. “This is even more true because there is a complete lack of justification for the need for legal realignment.” When asked by Heise Online, Apple did not comment on the country’s decision.
“The JMSTV amendment’s approach to ensuring the protection of minors in media through technical specifications for operating systems starts in the wrong place and is disproportionate,” warns Johannes Nader, project manager at the Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE). “For developers and users of many free software distributions, this approach brings uncertainty: Who is considered a provider and obliged to implement the guidelines? Do individuals, small companies, and research institutions also have to meet the guidelines if they use special operating systems, routers or other special hardware for scientific purposes, who gets fined if they don’t comply?
Nader also forgets at least one requirement that child protection devices must always be free software and interfaces implemented as open standards. This is the only way users can check that “the software in question provides the desired level of security.”
EU Commission observed
The JMStV amendment “creates technical barriers by introducing a separate age classification system that is contrary to internationally established standards,” says Nick Craigscott, head of infrastructure and regulation at Bitcom, similarly. Country-specific technical obligations for all types of operating system providers are also more than questionable. Youth media protection must rely on technically feasible, legally safe and proven market solutions.
According to Craigscott, Bitcom urges compliance with European legislation so that the free movement of goods and the freedom to provide information society services and audiovisual media services are not unduly restricted. The threat of infringement proceedings means huge uncertainty for affected companies. Theoretically, the Commission has I am ready for such a step,
Alexandra Koch-Skiba, head of the Echo Association’s complaints office, says that a mandatory youth protection tool in the form of a “one-size-fits-all” mechanism at the operating system level might offer a “simple” solution at first glance. Internet Industry. The idea behind this is to prevent underage users from being left alone with content on digital devices without any monitoring or support. However, upon closer inspection, several difficulties become apparent. Koch-Skiba believes it is good that parents have to consciously activate parental controls in the first place and that operating system providers are fulfilling their obligations even through existing account and profile-based solutions. Can.
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