DLA Piper obtains positive evaluation of Trustly's age verification system "Pay N Play" under youth protection law

DLA Piper has successfully represented Trustly Group AB in the proceedings for the positive assessment of its age verification system Pay N Play by the Commission for the Protection of Minors in the Media (KJM). The KJM recently positively assessed Trustly Group AB's Pay N Play concept and thus evaluated it as an instrument of technical youth media protection. The law does not contain a recognition procedure for age verification systems, which is why the KJM has developed an assessment procedure to evaluate corresponding concepts on this basis.

After examining the concept, the KJM, which is the central supervisory body for the protection of minors in private broadcasting and the Internet in Germany, came to the conclusion that it is suitable in the version presented and with appropriate implementation as a partial solution at the level of identification in line with the KJM criteria for ensuring a closed user group for adults in accordance with the Interstate Treaty on the Protection of Minors in the Media (JMStV).

According to the JMStV, certain content harmful to minors may only be distributed in telemedia if the provider ensures through closed user groups that only adults have access to it. Content impairing the development of minors may be published if the provider ensures, for example through a technical solution, that children and minors of the age group concerned generally do not perceive it. According to the State Treaty on Gambling, gambling providers are also obliged to exclude underage players through identification and authentication.

Founded in 2008 and headquartered in Stockholm, Trustly Group AB is a leading online banking payments company with more than 600 employees across Europe, North America and Latin America. Through its digital account-to-account platform, Trustly links some of the world’s most prominent merchants with consumers directly from their online banking accounts and handles the entire payment process.

The DLA Piper team led by partner Dr Michael Stulz-Herrnstadt also included counsel Christoph Engelmann (both Public Commercial Law/Media Law, Hamburg).