French Court Sets July Date to Decide Whether to Block Adult Sites

French Court Sets July Date to Decide Whether to Block Adult Sites

PARIS — The Paris Judicial Tribunal held a hearing earlier this month with representatives from five of the most visited adult tube sites in France, and set itself a July 7 deadline to decide whether to order internet service providers in the country to block access to those sites.

The four-hour hearing involved lawyers for Pornhub, Tukif, xHamster, XVideos and Xnxx, who presented their ongoing objections to the controversial 2020 law allowing France’s online content regulator, ARCOM, to seek a blocking order to target “websites that fail to prevent minors from accessing online pornography.”

The lawyers presented requests to nullify the proceedings and order a stay of the proposed block. The tribunal then gave itself until July 7 to make a decision.

France’s age verification mandate was surreptitiously added to a hastily approved domestic violence law during an atypical and sparsely attended COVID-era session of the French Parliament in July 2020.

Action Prompted by 'Children Advocacy,' Religious Groups

As XBIZ has been reporting, ARCOM has been prompted to order a block of adult sites that do not implement the ill-defined age verification measures in response to complaints from several associations claiming to represent “the children.” 

The groups — a patchwork of obscure organizations pursuing a self-appointed mission of “child protection” and sex work abolitionism — operate in tandem with anti-sex-work SWERF activists and politicians, and extremist Catholic groups like Civitas, to specifically target the five prominent tube sites.

Among the groups are Parenthood and Digital Education Watch, founded by anti-porn activist and business school graduate Thomas Rohmer; noted anti-sex-work abolitionist lobby Fondation Scelles; the National Union of Family Associations; a group calling itself Chameleon and another going by the name Respect Zone.

Lawyers for the targeted sites contended that the law was “not in line with the constitution,” but the court ruled in favor of ARCOM in January.

A Failure to Issue Clear Guidelines

The 2020 law requires that adult companies institute measures beyond simply asking an internet user whether they are of age. It also empowers a government official — the president of ARCOM — to demand that the president of the judicial court order ISP providers to immediately block infringing sites in the entire country.

According to French tech journalist Marc Rees, who has been reporting on the developments for news site Next INpact, the tube sites’ constitutional challenge is based on the legislators’ vagueness in drafting the law, which violates the legal principle of “freedom of expression and communication.”

During the April 14 hearing, lawyers for the tube sites argued that compliance cannot possibly be effected until ARCOM publishes clear guidelines, something the government has conspicuously neglected to do. Meanwhile, the complaining groups have actively fought against issuing clear content guidelines, as part of their campaign to prevent any open platforms — including Twitter and Reddit — to host whatever they may consider explicit material.

Rohmer spoke to Catholic news site La Croix earlier this month, urging ARCOM not to publish any clear content guidelines, which he called “a trap in which these sites want to snare us” and warning that his group will “fight so that it does not take place.” 

The tube sites also expressed concern about not having been part of meaningful consultations about various experimental systems for age verification — like credit cards, government IDs or through a Louisiana-style third party contractor — that the Macron government has floated since September.

Moreover, the tube sites contend, ARCOM failed to correctly notify the relevant EU authorities of its intention to block access to them, as is required by the supranational union’s directives.

Arcom’s lawyer Nicolas Jouanin told Le Croix that the regulator “is not here censoring pornography” but is trying to “put an end to a serious disturbance of public order.”

Copyright © 2025 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

Sara Jay, Dan Leal to Sponsor XBIZ Amsterdam Kick-Off Event

Sara Jay’s Wyde Syde Productions and Porno Dan Leal’s Market64 will co-sponsor the Bottoms Up Day Drinking kick-off event for XBIZ Amsterdam 2025 at Excalibur Café on Sept. 2, from 2-4 p.m. (CET).

AEBN Publishes Report on DP Trends

AEBN has published a report on DP and extreme penetration categories from its straight and gay theaters.

Free Speech Coalition Appoints Megan Stokes to Board of Directors

The Free Speech Coalition (FSC) announced today that it has appointed Megan Stokes to its Board of Directors.

FansRevenue Acquires DivaTraffic

FansRevenue has acquired web traffic service DivaTraffic.

AEBN Announces Peter Green as Top Male Boy/Girl Performer for Summer 2025

AEBN has revealed its top 10 male Boy/Girl performers for summer 2025, with Peter Green landing atop the leaderboard.

Spicey AI Relaunches Site, Debuts $Spicey Tokens

Interactive voice chat platform Spicey AI has relaunched its website and introduced $Spicey tokens.

FSC: Missouri Age Verification Rule Will Not Take Effect August 30

The Free Speech Coalition (FSC) announced that Missouri's proposed age verification legislation will not take effect on August 30, as it had originally estimated.

Little Caprice, Marcello Bravo to Co-Host 2025 XMA Europa Awards

XBIZ is pleased to announce that husband-and-wife duo Little Caprice and Marcello Bravo will co-host adult’s biggest night in Europe: the 2025 XMA Europa Awards on Sept. 4, in the epic climax to XBIZ’s fall events series.

Germany Will Block Payments to AV-Noncompliant Adult Sites as of Dec. 1

Starting Dec. 1, Germany will implement new rules prohibiting financial institutions from providing payment services to adult sites deemed to have inadequate age verification systems and making it easier for the government to target websites mirroring the content of such sites.

Jerkmate Joins Pineapple Support as Partner-Level Sponsor

Jerkmate has joined the ranks of over 70 adult businesses and organizations committing funds and resources to Pineapple Support.

Show More