Spanish government threatens 100,000-euro fines and shutting down websites that advertise prostitution

Websites that advertise prostitution could be shutdown or slapped with 100,000-euro fines, the Spanish government has warned.

Officials have already started warning several website administrators that if they do not immediately remove the advertising of prostitution they will be sanctioned.

The move comes after the Ministry of Consumer Affairs banned any promotion of prostitution in Spain, included in the General Law on Advertising, since last 7 October. It was the day when the provision of the 'only yes is yes' law came into force, which declared these advertisements illegal.

The ministry headed by Alberto Garzón has sent reminders to companies and websites warning them that advertising prostitution - or contents directly related to it, such as 'escort', or 'masseuse' services - is illegal.

A third of the offending websites are from the same company and most of them try to skirt around the issue by using the term 'escort' instead of 'prostitute'.