Leading adult websites Pornhub, YouPorn, and RedTube were restored in France on Friday after a court temporarily suspended a ruling that mandated age verification for access.
Major Adult Sites Return Online in France After Age Verification Ruling Suspended
Leading adult websites Pornhub, YouPorn, and RedTube resumed operations in France on Friday after a court temporarily suspended a regulation requiring EU-based pornography platforms to verify users’ ages.
Earlier this year, France began enforcing stricter age verification laws for adult sites, mandating that users confirm their age using personal details like credit cards or government-issued ID. The goal was to restrict minors’ access to online pornography.
However, the country’s highest administrative court, the Council of State, will now review the legality of that requirement, as the government announced plans to appeal the suspension.
The three platforms are owned by Cyprus-based company Aylo, which called the suspension “an opportunity to reconsider more effective and secure methods” of age verification. Aylo had blocked access to its websites in France in early June in protest, citing serious concerns about user privacy and data safety.
In a statement previously posted on the platforms’ homepages, Aylo said:
“Requiring users to repeatedly share sensitive personal data poses unacceptable security risks, including exposure to hackers and leaks — risks we are unwilling to impose on our audience.”
According to a 2024 study by France’s audiovisual regulator Arcom, around 40% of French children access pornographic content online monthly, prompting the government’s push for tighter controls.
To address privacy concerns, France’s decree had also included a provision for a “double-blind” system — a third-party method designed to confirm age without revealing users’ identities to the websites themselves.
Still, Aylo argued that these mechanisms are ineffective and redirect traffic to unregulated sites that bypass restrictions entirely. The company advocates for a broader solution: requiring age verification at the operating system level by tech giants like Apple, Microsoft, and Google.
Aylo, which reports approximately seven million daily visitors in France across its platforms, also criticized the law for failing to enforce content standards — particularly in verifying the age and consent of performers featured in uploaded videos.
France isn’t alone in implementing such regulations. Other European countries, including the United Kingdom and Germany, also require age checks for accessing adult content.