Other adult websites may face legal action in the Netherlands after xHamster ruling

The Dutch organization that filed a lawsuit against pornography website xhamster.com has hailed an Amsterdam court's decision to ban the site from hosting amateur videos uploaded without consent, calling it a "victory for the rights and privacy of victims." The organization, EOKM, studies online abuse, including cases involving children, and provides expertise on the issue.

After its legal victory on Wednesday, EOKM said it is considering further action against other websites that publish or have published material without explicit consent that features "recognizable individuals engaging in sexual activities in a private setting."

A court in Amsterdam ordered xHamster to remove all published videos where they did not obtain consent from all parties involved. They have three weeks to comply with the court order, which applies worldwide for videos that show people who live in the Netherlands. Additionally, videos of foreign individuals who did not grant consent must be made inaccessible for users in the Netherlands.

If the website fails to comply, it could face a penalty of up to 30,000 euros per video. The EOKM previously won a similar case against vagina.nl.

Arda Gerkens, EOKM's director, expressed satisfaction with the ruling, saying, "I am pleased that the court has once again ruled that amateur images cannot simply be uploaded online. The dissemination of nude images in this way must be stopped, and all websites should play a role in this effort."

Hanna van Til, the lawyer representing the organization in the lawsuit, said that xHamster and "other operators can no longer turn a blind eye," thanks to the latest verdict. Although the website's operator is based in Cyprus, EOKM's lawyers argue that it must still "comply with Dutch law."

The website was still considering its response to the ruling late on Wednesday afternoon.