LUXEMBOURG — Government officials in Luxembourg have rebuffed a French government request to help enforce France’s Security and Regulation of the Digital Space (SREN) law by taking action against webcam platform LiveJasmin, the Luxembourg Times is reporting.
As XBIZ reported last month, French media regulator Arcom is currently enforcing age verification rules for site operators based in France and non-EU countries. Although the agency is scheduled to begin applying those rules to platforms based in other EU countries as of June 7, the Luxembourg Times report indicates that France targeted Luxembourg-based LiveJasmin as early as December 2024.
Citing “an exchange of letters” between the Luxembourg and French governments, the report states that, in late December, French authorities alleged that LiveJasmin lacks age verification as mandated under SREN, and asked Luxembourg authorities to crack down on Docler Holding, the company that runs LiveJasmin, and require it to implement the AV measures required under SREN.
In response, Luxembourg officials asked the country’s own media regulator, ALIA, to investigate “whether LiveJasmin complies with the Grand Duchy’s obligations to protect minors,” the Luxembourg Times article notes. However, officials rejected the idea that Luxembourg is obligated to enforce French laws.
Luxembourg was “defending its sovereignty and the EU common internal market,” according to the Luxembourg Times.
“There is absolutely no discussion as to whether it is important or necessary to do something [about children easily viewing porn],” a Luxembourg Economy Ministry official told the news outlet. “Of course something has to be done. But we have to do it in a legal and appropriate manner. We cannot circumvent EU rules just because it is maybe a highly sensitive topic.”
As XBIZ reported last week, the European Commission recently made public its draft guidelines on protecting minors online under the EU’s Digital Services Act, including age verification requirements covering adult sites and platforms. Those draft guidelines are open for final public feedback until June 10.
A Docler Holding spokesperson told the Luxembourg Times that sexual content on LiveJasmin is kept behind a paywall that requires customers to prove their age.
“Content accessible to unverified users is strictly non-pornographic,” the spokesperson told the Luxembourg Times in an email.