France calls bluff on Big Porn's threat to block access
"If Aylo prefers to leave France than apply our laws, that's up to them" said French Digital Minister Clara Chappaz on X.
France’s Digital Minister Clara Chappaz has said porn websites YouPorn, RedTube, and Pornhub are free to leave the country in response to their threat to block access to French users over an ongoing dispute about age verification.
The parent company of the three websites, Aylo, has been advocating against mandatory age verification mechanisms since the French government passed the so-called SREN law in 2024, making age verification on porn platforms mandatory.
The three porn websites announced at a press conference organised by Aylo on Tuesday, that their block to French users would enter into force already tomorrow.
The block would affect millions of people, with Pornhub in France alone registering 7 million users per day according to Le Monde. Users visiting the three porn websites from Wednesday onwards will see a lobbying message that France is endangering the right to privacy with a mechanism that is intrusive and unreliable.
Aylo argued that it should not be up to the pornographic websites to verify the age of the users, but at the device level, meaning that tech companies like Apple or Google would verify the age.
“Asking pornographic sites to verify the age of their users is not about stigmatising adults, but about protecting children,” said Chappaz on X in response to Aylo’s decision.
French digital watchdog ARCOM recently presented guidelines on the law that promoted the mechanism of “double anonymity” to ensure that neither the user nor the platform accessing age verification would know each other’s identity.
ARCOM has been mandated to enforce the law and issue formal notices against pornographic companies that do not comply, starting from 6 June.
On Wednesday, Aylo’s spokesperson confirmed that it will block three of its websites in France, calling it “a difficult decision.” “We will be using our platforms to directly address the French public on Wednesday,” the spokesperson added.
Théophane Hartmann contributed with further reporting to this article.
This article has been updated.
(CP)
