Pornhub, XVideos, And XHamster Face Ban In France
A similar ban failed in the UK three years ago (although, now they’re trying to do it again), so it’s not clear if the government will succeed in France. They want users to be age-verified, but how do you do that without violating the privacy of adults who may not want to share their identities with tube sites? Via DailyMail:
Five websites hosting sexually explicit content, including Pornhub, may be banned in France for failing to prevent children from accessing their content. The national media regulator today announced that it had filed a legal complaint against the sites, which in late 2021 were told they needed to bring in a system to stop underage viewers. Pornhub, the world’s biggest pornography site by user numbers, is targeted as well as Tukif, Xhamster, Xnxx and Xvideos.
Website operations cannot simply ask a user if they are over 18, under a new French law passed in July 2020.
Roch-Olivier Maistre, the head of France’s Arcom media regulator, today told reporters that a case has been filed at a Paris court after operators ignored previous warnings.
Arcom in a statement said: ‘If justice rules in favour, these websites will no longer be accessible from French territory or via addresses registered in France.’
The ban, if approved by the court, would see internet operators in France ordered to prevent users from accessing content posted on the websites, Arcom said.
[DailyMail: Pornhub and four other sex websites face being BANNED in France]
