Madrid Court Upholds €50,000 Fine Against Platform for Advertising Sexual Services

The Madrid High Court of Justice (TSJM) has set a major precedent in the fight against online advertisements for sexual services. The court recently upheld a €50,000 fine against a platform based in Ireland, ruling that it violated Spanish consumer protection laws by hosting such content.

The investigation began last year after inspectors in the Canary Islands monitored the platform’s activity across Tenerife, Gran Canaria, and Lanzarote. They confirmed that the site was actively facilitating contact for sexual services. The court rejected the company’s defense, which had attempted to argue that the ads were for "escorts" rather than prostitution, concluding that the content was clearly promoting the sex trade.

This ruling confirms the fine and strengthens the government’s power to block or seize domains that operate illegally within Spain. While prostitution itself is not illegal in Spain, the General Advertising Law and consumer protection regulations strictly prohibit advertising it, particularly when such ads treat the human body as an object or violate human dignity.

As a result of this case, the platform has updated its policies to include explicit warnings that promoting prostitution is illegal in Spain. This outcome demonstrates that Spanish authorities can effectively regulate transnational companies that try to bypass local laws by basing their operations in other EU countries. The ruling serves as a clear warning to other websites that attempt to use regional targeting to normalize services that are not legally permitted to be advertised in Spain.