Announced this Tuesday, the three main pornography sites in France have carried out their threat: blocking French Internet users from Pornhub, YouPorn, and RedTube after the French government required them to implement an age verification system for visitors. The standoff seems set to continue, especially after the anger of the Minister Delegate for Digital Affairs on Wednesday, June 4, 2025.
Pornhub and YouPorn continue to oppose the French government
Things are going badly for the French government and the Aylo group, which owns pornographic sites such as Pornhub, YouPorn, and RedTube. If you have visited any of these sites, they are simply inaccessible if you are a French internet user. Instead of the traditional homepage asking you to certify that you are over 18, you find a message "Freedom has no off button" accompanied by a Marianne from Eugène Delacroix's painting Liberty Leading the People.
A way to protest against the government's decision to impose age verification for users who come to consume porn online. For the Luxembourg group, this political decision absolutely does not protect minors from content intended for an adult audience. Furthermore, having to prove one's age by repeatedly providing sensitive personal information creates an unacceptable security risk that platforms refuse to impose on users. To avoid these risks of personal data leaks and for a more efficient system, Aylo offers smarter verification, namely directly on devices. However, it seems that this proposal was ignored by the government.
Furthermore, with this regulation, Aylo believes that Internet users, 7 million of whom visit its sites daily, are turning to other X-rated sites that are less vigilant about the age of people who may appear in the videos.
The Minister for Digital Affairs digs up the hatchet
It didn't take much for the Minister Delegate for Digital Affairs, Clara Chappaz, to react. She claims that every month, 2.3 million minors watch porn in France and more than a third of 12-17 year-olds visit Pornhub monthly. She also points out that discussions have been held with industry stakeholders since the law was adopted in July 2020 and that Aylo, unlike other sites, has not spoken with Arcom. She states: "They chose: to flee rather than protect minors." In the press release published Wednesday evening, Clara Chappaz announces:
I will not give in. Today, Pornhub and YouPorn prefer to disconnect rather than assume their responsibilities. Let them leave, I tell them very clearly: good luck.
I might as well tell you that the standoff has only just begun and that it won't be tomorrow that French Internet users will be able to watch porn on the Internet again.
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