Porn Sites Blocked By French Court Over Lack Of Age Verification

The Paris Court of Appeal has ordered the full blocking of several pornographic websites, including Xhamster and Tukif, due to their failure to implement solid age verification systems. The ruling, issued today, is intended as a major step in protecting minors from accessing adult content online, as reported by Politico.

The court’s decision emphasized the importance of protecting children, stating that children’s general interest is “an overriding consideration which may justify infringement of other rights such as freedom of expression or communication,” Politico reported.

The court further stated, “Giving priority to the protection of the private lives of adult consumers, by ruling out age verification, is incompatible with the protection of minors.”

Justine Atlan, managing director of e-Enfance, one of the two associations that supported the plaintiffs, called it “a landmark decision.” According to Atlan, the websites have 15 days to implement effective age controls, or the blocks will be extended until such systems are in place, as reported by Politico.

This case follows broader efforts by French authorities to enforce stricter online content regulations. Indeed, the French audiovisual regulator, Arcom, has been given the authority to implement age-gating rules under the Law to Secure and Regulate the Digital Space, which came into force in May 2024, as reported yesterday by Verifymy.

This law mandates that websites offering pornographic content must implement effective age verification systems to prevent minors from accessing their material.

Arcom’s document specifies the “minimum technical requirements applicable to age verification systems set up to access services broadcasting pornographic content,” as noted by Verifymy.

The guidelines further reinforce Arcom’s right to “sanction and administratively block pornographic sites that do not comply with their criminal obligation to prevent minors from accessing their content.”

This ruling could signal a broader shift toward prioritizing child protection in digital regulations across Europe. Advocates argue that with the increasing number of minors accessing adult content, the case for stringent measures is undeniable, as reported by Verifymy.

They believe robust and well-implemented age verification systems could provide a crucial layer of protection for children, which has been missing from the digital landscape, noted by Verifymy.

However, on the other side, this ruling raises concerns about freedom of expression and privacy. Critics argue that blocking access to websites over age verification issues could be seen as overreach, restricting the freedom of adult consumers to access legal content.

Moreover, the enforcement of age-gating could pose privacy risks for adult users, who may be required to provide personal information, creating potential vulnerabilities in terms of data protection.