You can’t watch Pornhub anymore if you’re in this country: Here’s what happened

Pornhub

If you’re in France and tried to open Pornhub recently, you were probably met with a blank screen. That’s because Pornhub and its sister sites YouPorn and Redtube have officially blocked access in the country. The move comes in response to a new French law that requires pornographic websites to verify users’ ages using strict methods, according to a CNN report.

The company behind these sites, Aylo, says it had “no choice” but to suspend access. It argues that the new law forces platforms to choose between protecting minors and risking users’ privacy. “We’ve tried working with the French government for years to find a solution that doesn’t put millions at risk of data breaches,” said Alex Kekesi, Aylo’s vice president. “But no safe option has been offered.”

France passed the law last year to stop minors from accessing explicit content. The law suggests using methods like credit card checks or government ID scans. But Aylo believes age verification should be handled by device-makers like Apple and Google—not the websites themselves.

France’s media regulator, Arcom, isn’t happy with Aylo’s decision. It accused the company of “shirking” its duty to protect young users and said there are privacy-friendly tools already available on the market.

French Gender Equality Minister Aurore Bergé praised the move, saying there would now be “less violent, degrading and humiliating content accessible to minors.”

France was Pornhub’s second-largest market after the US, so this is a major shift for both users and the platform. Similar age-check laws in 19 U.S. states have also led Pornhub to block access there, and the European Commission has launched an investigation into the site and others for failing to protect minors.
For now, if you’re in France, Pornhub is officially off-limits.