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.
Pornhub, alongside four other sex websites, may be banned in France for failing to prevent children from accessing their content (stock photo used)
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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.'
At the end of 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 see internet operators in France ordered to prevent users from accessing content posted on the websites, Arcom said.
Acom 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 (stock photo used)
They would instead display a page explaining the restrictions.
When warned by the regulator in December, Pornhub criticised the watchdog's decisions, which it said 'infringe upon the privacy of adults', according to EURACTIV France.
The site also told the news outlet that the move leaves a majority of the adult industry 'completely unchecked'.
France