Pornhub, YouPorn, RedTube: Why are these sites blocked in France today?

This is bad news for all internet porn fans: Pornhub, YouPorn, and RedTube will no longer be accessible in France starting today. Are you wondering why French internet users will be prevented from watching pornographic videos? Explanations.

Three major porn sites banned for French Internet users

It was a real earthquake that occurred this Tuesday, June 3, 2025, when the pornographic video giant Aylo, which owns the sites Pornhub, YouPorn, and RedTube, announced that it would block French Internet users to prevent them from watching porn on the Internet. This block will be effective today, Wednesday, June 5, 2025 in the afternoon. But why is the parent company doing this? To understand this decision, we must look at the French government's obligation to make age verification mandatory for visitors to these adult sites.

Indeed, the Cypriot owner of these three pornographic sites, which attract 7 million visitors in France every day, opposes the French government's decision to mass-check the age of Internet users, believing that this legislation is "symbolic, useless, and dangerous for privacy".

Porn industry giants present in the European Union but located outside France were required to find techniques other than the simple message "I am over 18" before accessing the video catalog before June 6. Since the sites were not supposed to collect user data, they had to find an alternative to ensure the visitor's age by using an identity document or even estimating their age using a selfie.

For the Aylo group, this political decision is nonsense because "repeatedly requiring you to provide sensitive personal information creates an unacceptable security risk that we refuse to impose on our users." And to add that this age verification exposes risks of hacking and data leaks, emphasizing that "it's the opposite of what we are taught, not to provide our personal data online".

Poll: Porn: Do you understand the decision of these sites to block French Internet users?

So, starting this afternoon, if you visit one of these three porn sites, you will come across a message inspired by the painting Liberty Leading the People by Eugène Delacroix declaring that "liberty has no off button" and of course, the videos will no longer be accessible until further notice.

ALERT - Pornographic sites
Pornhub, Youporn and Redtube will be
SUSPENDED starting tomorrow in France.
(Le Parisien)

Poor France doesn't even have the right to masturbate anymore!

— Cosmos Norgie (@cosmosnorgie26) June 4, 2025

Message to #government, you are interfering with my freedom to watch porn #pornhub #youporn #France https://t.co/Aslcrj8d5j 2025

ALERT - Pornhub, Youporn and Redtube will be off the air in France starting tomorrow.

It will therefore no longer be possible to watch the replay of PSG - Inter

(@analplusfoutre) pic.twitter.com/fUsXeh6JZ2

— Actu Foutre (@ActuFoutreOff) June June 3, 2025

Smoking banned in certain places... My favorite sites closed...
In one week, 85% of my life has become illegal...
Luckily, now I can be euthanized, great timing!

— Fel'DeBenito (@LeFelll) June 3, 2025

For her part, the Minister Delegate for Artificial Intelligence and Digital Affairs, Clara Chappaz, simply declared on X that "if Aylo prefers to leave France rather than apply our law, it's up to them." Arcom has acknowledged this decision and specifies that there are many solutions for verifying age while protecting Internet users' data.