Although the state media authorities imposed a network ban on the porn portal xhamster at the beginning of March (FAZ of March 3), this is not effective.

The operators of the site, the company "Hammy" run by two Russians in Cyprus, have put a new country code in front of the German-language edition: "deu" instead of "de".

This means that the xhamster.com site can still be reached without any problems for local users.

Michael Hanfeld

responsible editor for feuilleton online and "media".

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xhamster does not have a secure youth protection system.

Users do not have to prove their age and do not have to register.

Minors have easy access.

Therefore, after extensive research and legal preparation by the State Media Authority of North Rhine-Westphalia, the Commission for the Protection of Minors in the Media of the State Media Authorities (KJM) imposed a network ban on xhamster.

For Internet providers such as Telekom or Vodafone, it means that they are no longer allowed to distribute the site - which, however, happens with the new country code.

The providers can go to court against the block.

As the State Media Authority of North Rhine-Westphalia says on request, this is not the case at the moment.

No complaints from the providers have been received yet.

A legal review is to be expected, it is said.

In view of the clear case, the immediate enforceability of the measures taken by the state media authority, they are convinced, should probably not be questioned.

One does not expect that a court will override the network block.

When asked about the change in xhamster's country code, Tobias Schmid, director of the State Media Authority of North Rhine-Westphalia, said: "This obtrusive disregard for the legal system does not really come as a surprise for this company.

But media supervision is more of a medium-haul thing and we're quite persistent, probably more persistent than xHamster, xHase or xguinea pigs."

Because of the 'old new offer', Schmid said, 'we have been in contact with our Cypriot colleagues and the process will certainly go much faster.

However, it is also certain that our task of protecting children from dangers of this kind would be much easier if we could also take economic measures against such offers.

Above all, the law should make it clear that something remains forbidden even if it changes its name - what looks like a hamster remains a hamster, even if it calls itself a rabbit.

Nobody understands anything else either."