NNN: Pornhub and four other sites that host sexually explicit content are facing a possible ban in France after the country’s media regulator said on Tuesday it had filed a legal claim against them.
At the end of 2021, the sites were told that they needed to implement a system that would prevent children from viewing their videos.
Under a new French law passed in July 2020, website operators cannot simply ask a user if they are over 18 years old.
The head of France‘s media regulator Arcom, Roch-Olivier Maistre, told reporters on Tuesday that a case had been filed in a Paris court after earlier warnings were ignored by operators.
“If justice rules in favor, these websites will no longer be accessible from French territory or through addresses registered in France,” the regulator said in a statement.
The targeted websites are Pornhub, the world’s largest porn site by number of users, as well as Tukif, Xhamster, Xnxxand Xvideos
In late December, Portugal-based Tukif launched a legal appeal against the crackdown, claiming it was discriminatory because other sites were not included
The ban, if approved by the court, would force Internet operators in France to prevent users from accessing content posted on websites, Arcom said.
Instead, they would display a page explaining the restrictions.