Why global porn sites are blocking access from France
Row over new age verification law means several major sites will be unavailable in France
A major porn company is leading the protest over new rules
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Several major porn sites in France are set to deny access from today (June 4) onwards as an industry giant protests over new age verification laws in France.
Aylo, which runs sites such as Pornhub, YouPorn and RedTube, announced the move on Tuesday (June 3) afternoon.
People attempting to access videos or material on these sites will instead be shown a message explaining the group’s opposition to new rules for accessing pornographic content in France.
A new law in France requires visitors to pornographic websites to confirm their age by uploading a photo of themselves or their ID, which is then sent by the website to a third-party verification service.
It is aimed at preventing underage people from accessing the material – up to two million under 18s per day reportedly access porn in France, with around seven million people in the country watching content at least once per day.
Originally, the rules only applied to sites from outside the EU – Aylo is based in Cyprus – but were updated to include all pornographic websites.
While the government’s new rules were backed by children’s rights and protection groups, they were criticised as overbearing by several pornographic sites, with further questions over the security of the supposedly ‘anonymous’ systems used to upload photos.
Push for alternative measures
“Aylo is very pro-age verification [but thinks the rules are] symbolic, unnecessary and dangerous for privacy,” said Vice President Alex Kekesi.
Age verification “has never been tested before on this scale, and creates risks of hacking and data leakage: it's the opposite of what we're taught, not to provide our personal data online,” he added.
The site manager instead proposes age verification should be carried out on the device used to access the website itself (i.e. the age of the person who owns the device is verified at a prior date and taken into account by a website), and for it to be set up in a way that it cannot be bypassed by a VPN (Virtual Private Network).
It also urges parents to install stricter parental controls.
A further criticism is that people can get around the new controls by using websites and social media platforms that host pornographic material as part of a wider multimedia service (such as Reddit or X), as these sites are not subject to the restrictions.
“If Aylo prefers to leave France rather than apply our law, they're free to do so,” retorted Digital Minister Clara Chappaz on social media.
“The Arcom reference system guarantees privacy with double anonymity,” she added.
How does the system work?
The new system – which will apply by June 6 for all pornographic sites hosting material in France – requires users to submit a photo of themselves or a valid piece of ID.
It replaces the previous control, which was a simple box saying ‘I confirm I am 18 or older’ on the website.
This photo is not sent directly to the site manager such as Aylo, but to a private third-party verifier, which uses its expertise to assess whether the person is old enough (or if the ID used is genuine).
These verifiers do not know what site the person is asking to access, nor do the sites themselves get to see the photo/ID handed over, hence the ‘double anonymity’ of the system.
However, verifiers charge for the system, meaning there is a financial aspect to the criticism of the law alongside other concerns.
Site managers will need to shoulder the costs themselves, or pass them onto customers.
Similar measures are expected to be rolled out across Europe, as a European age verification app is set to come into force in 2025 that could theoretically be used for similar purposes.
