Andorra Classifies Paid Personalized Sex Content as Prostitution, Fines Consumers Up to €1,500

Andorra's government has approved penal code reforms classifying paid, personalised sexual content on platforms like OnlyFans as prostitution, with consumers facing administrative fines of 501 to 1,500 euros for requesting or interacting with such material.

Justice and Interior Minister Esther Molné outlined the changes during a Monday briefing, noting that general pornography consumption and production remain legal. The distinction arises with direct interaction and payment, such as commissioning specific content, which authorities now view as prostitution. Those facilitating or profiting from these activities risk prison sentences of three months to three years for abetting, or two to five years for aggravated cases involving coercion. Exercising prostitution itself carries no penalty.

Approved by the Council of Ministers last Wednesday, the package targets digital sex work alongside broader protections against sexual offences. It raises the age of consent to 16, or 14 if partners are within five years of age. Distributing non-consensual sexual images—including those altered by AI to depict nudity or acts—becomes punishable by three months to three years in prison. Sending unsolicited sexual material counts as harassment. Child pornography extends to any depiction resembling a minor, even if the person is not underage, with up to four years' imprisonment. Attempting to attend pornographic shows involving minors or people with disabilities carries up to two years.

New provisions also expand hate crime penalties for online incitement, including via social media, and broaden domestic abuse to cases without cohabitation, with harsher sentences if violence occurs in a victim's home or near a minor.

For the first time, companies face criminal liability for grave offences like human trafficking, money laundering, environmental crimes and private-sector corruption, with fines up to 300,000 euros and potential trading bans. These respond to calls from groups like Diversand and international watchdogs including Moneyval and Greco.

The bill reaches the Consell General on Tuesday via urgent procedure, aiming for approval before July. Most changes apply one year after BOPA publication to allow adaptation time, though Molné suggested parliamentary amendments could hasten clauses on sexual freedom, discrimination and harassment. Police readiness for digital investigations is advancing, but enforcement mechanisms for online payments remain under development. The Consell General may refine the text further.