A German administrative court has temporarily halted efforts by the State Media Authority of North Rhine-Westphalia (LfM NRW) to force telecom giants like Telekom and Vodafone to block access to Pornhub and YouPorn, marking a significant shift in a years-long legal battle over age verification enforcement for adult websites in Germany.

The Administrative Court of Düsseldorf ruled on November 19 that the blocking orders cannot be enforced—for now—against the adult platforms’ operator, Aylo, which is legally based in Cyprus. The decision suspends enforcement until the Higher Administrative Court (OVG) of North Rhine-Westphalia rules on Aylo’s pending appeal of earlier prohibition orders.

At the center of the court’s decision is the country-of-origin principle enshrined in the EU’s Directive on Electronic Commerce (2002). This principle stipulates that EU member states cannot impose unilateral regulations on companies legally operating in other member states unless certain formal conditions are met, such as prior notification to the country of origin and the European Commission.

According to the court, the German Youth Media Protection Interstate Treaty (JMStV), the legal basis for the LfM’s blocking orders, may violate EU law in its current form. Specifically, the judges stated that Germany’s restrictions may no longer meet EU requirements following recent rulings by the European Court of Justice (ECJ).

The case marks an abrupt shift in German case law, with earlier rulings largely upholding the LfM’s authority to mandate age verification compliance. However, Aylo successfully argued that evolving European legal standards and recent ECJ interpretations warrant a re-evaluation of enforcement.

The ruling echoes similar legal complications elsewhere in the EU. In France, regulators have struggled to enforce the SREN law, which mandates robust age verification on adult sites. French authorities have sought help from Luxembourg and the Czech Republic to act against platforms like LiveJasmin, XNXX, and XVideos, all of which are operated from outside France. Those countries have declined, citing a lack of jurisdiction and EU treaty obligations.

Meanwhile, the European Commission has introduced DSA-aligned tools, including a “white label” age verification app, to streamline compliance. Still, enforcement mechanisms across the EU remain fragmented and legally complex.

Although the Düsseldorf court suspended enforcement, it did not invalidate the prohibition orders themselves. Those are still under review by the Higher Administrative Court in Münster, and Aylo’s appeals remain pending.

While 1&1 remains subject to a different court’s enforcement ruling, Telekom and Vodafone no longer have to block access to Pornhub and YouPorn—at least temporarily.

In its defense, Aylo emphasized that blocking measures should be implemented only after proper cross-border coordination, as required under EU law. The company has also previously taken its sites offline in France as a form of protest against what it calls inconsistent and legally dubious enforcement of national AV laws.

This decision is expected to set a precedent as national media regulators across the EU grapple with how to enforce child-safety laws while respecting cross-border digital-market freedoms. Legal experts warn that continued attempts to regulate foreign-based adult websites without proper EU-level coordination could backfire, leading to legal defeats and regulatory confusion.

All parties involved in the case retain the right to appeal. Any final decision by the OVG Münster may serve as a landmark ruling for how far member states can go in enforcing national age-verification laws on websites based elsewhere in the EU.