French Adult Content Websites Reactivated Following Court Ruling
Major adult content sites have resumed operations in France after a court ruling halted age verification requirements.
Key Points
- • Pornhub, Youporn, and Redtube reactivated in France after court ruling
- • Paris court suspended age verification decree for adult sites
- • French government plans to appeal the court's decision
- • Aylo advocates for device-level age verification instead of user-submitted ID
In a significant legal development, major adult content websites including Pornhub, Youporn, and Redtube have been reactivated in France after a ruling by the Paris administrative court. This ruling has temporarily suspended a government decree that mandated these sites to verify users' ages, a decision which had previously led to the platforms blocking access in France earlier this month. The decree, set to take full effect in 2024, initially required pornographic websites to implement strict age verification processes, including the submission of identification documents, with penalties for non-compliance potentially resulting in site blockage by the regulatory authority, Arcom.
According to Aylo, the owner of these adult platforms, France has around seven million daily visitors to these sites. The company has been a vocal opponent of the current legislative approach, advocating instead for a verification system that functions at the device or operating system level, rather than relying on user-submitted identification.
The court's suspension of the age verification requirement allows for a possible reevaluation of the approach to regulating access to adult content. In response to the ruling, the French government has announced intentions to appeal the decision to the Conseil d'État, which could lead to further legal discussions on the appropriateness and feasibility of such age verification laws.