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PornHub is back in France

PARIS — Canadian pornography giant Aylo has restored access to Pornhub, YouPorn and Redtube in France after blocking access to the sites for nearly three weeks in protest of age verification requirements, a spokesperson confirmed to POLITICO.

Aylo’s decision comes after the porn industry scored an important legal victory on Monday, when a French court ruled that domestic authorities cannot impose these requirements to companies based in other European Union states, lifting the obligations. Aylo’s European headquarters are in Cyprus.

The company said in a statement that the court’s decision “provides an opportunity to reconsider more effective approaches pending the position of the Court of Justice of the European Union.” The statement also reiterated Aylo’s push for device-based age verification as opposed to website-based verification.

The issue of protecting children in the digital sphere is at the top of the agenda for many EU countries, but France has in recent years been at the forefront of the push to prevent minors from accessing harmful material online. President Emmanuel Macron and Digital Minister Clara Chappaz pushing for a Europe-wide 15-year-old age limit on social media use.

Pornographic websites were given until June 7 to comply with new rules regarding age verification, but Aylo chose to block its sights in France altogether, arguing the measures infringed on people’s privacy.

The government plans to appeal the court’s decision.

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Writers at Lord’s Press come from a range of professional backgrounds, including history, diplomacy, heraldry, and public administration. Many publish anonymously or under initials—a practice that reflects the publication’s long-standing emphasis on discretion and editorial objectivity. While they bring expertise in European nobility, protocol, and archival research, their role is not to opine, but to document. Their focus remains on accuracy, historical integrity, and the preservation of events and individuals whose significance might otherwise go unrecorded.

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