PARIS (Reuters) -The firm behind Pornhub, YouPorn and RedTube is suspending access to the adult content platforms in France from Wednesday, in a move that media said was in protest against a requirement for porn sites to verify that their users are 18 or older.
“I can confirm that Aylo has made the difficult decision to suspend access to its user-uploaded platforms (P-rnhub, YouP-rn, RedTube) in France. We will be using our platforms to directly address the French public tomorrow,” a spokesperson for Pornhub said on Tuesday.
Aylo owns the affected platforms, as well as several other adult entertainment brands.
Arcom, France’s digital and audiovisual communication regulator, can request that porn websites are blocked and levy fines if it deems their age verification systems are insufficient.
“If Aylo would rather leave France than apply our laws, they are free to do so,” Clara Chappaz, France’s junior minister for artificial intelligence and digital technology, wrote in a post on social media platform X.
Arcom has said that 2.3 million minors access porn websites every month even though legally they should be blocked from them.
Adult content platforms have come under fire elsewhere in the European Union. EU regulators said last month that several sites, including Pornhub, would be investigated for failing to comply with rules to protect children.
(Reporting by Makini BriceEditing by Mark Potter)
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