Porn sites block access in France in protest against new restrictions
Instead of their usual content, Pornhub, Redtube and Youporn will display a statement about the country’s new age verification rules
From Wednesday, people in France will no longer be able to access pornography on several major sites – at least temporarily.
Aylo, the company behind Pornhub, Redtube and Youporn, had plans to block content from the afternoon onwards in protest at new French age verification regulations, local media reports said on Tuesday.
Instead of porn, the company will only display a statement on the new regulations in the country.
Figures from the French digital regulatory authority Arcom from 2023 suggest 2.3 million minors visited porn sites every month, accounting for 12 per cent of the total number of users in the country.
To better protect minors, the platforms are to create stricter control mechanisms. Simply clicking that you are over 18 will no longer be enough.
To maintain anonymity, external sites will verify the age of users. The porn sites will then only receive confirmation that the person is of legal age and will not know their identity. The external service provider will know the identity of the user but not the reason for the age check.