“The porn industry is initiating legal proceedings across Europe to remove all obstacles to its expansion.”

Interview first published in French on Le Figaro with Nicolas Bauer. Mr Bauer holds a PhD. in public law and is a co-author of the collective work « Fins de la vie : les devoirs d’une démocratie » (Éditions du Cerf, 2025).

Le Figaro: On Friday, June 20, following a favorable decision by the administrative court, the Aylo group announced that its websites (YouPorn, Pornhub, and RedTube) would once again be accessible in France. Can you remind us of the timeline and reasons for this very temporary withdrawal?

Nicolas Bauer: French law prohibits the distribution of pornography when it is likely to be seen by a minor (Article 227-24 of the Penal Code). However, not only is pornography very easily accessible, but the first exposure to pornography is accidental for 40 to 70% of adolescents. As a result, according to ARCOM (formerly CSA), 40% of minors access pornographic websites every month. Minors represent an average of 12% of the audience for these sites with as much as 17% for a platform such as Pornhub. These minor populations typically remain consumers once they reach adulthood. This reality shows that the ban on distributing pornography to minors is not being enforced.

The law from July 30, 2020 gave ARCOM the power to enforce this ban. It also specified, for pornographic sites, that checking a box “I am 18 years old” or entering a date of birth is not sufficient. The law requires a genuine age verification system. The audiovisual regulator gave formal notices to five websites, including Pornhub, at the end of 2021. Faced with the website owners’ inaction, the president of ARCOM referred the matter to the Paris court in March 2022, aiming to have the websites blocked by internet service providers. This was unsuccessful.

The law passed on May 21, 2024, known as SREN, gave ARCOM additional abilities to sanction and block sites that do not comply with the age verification requirement. In the months that followed, the audiovisual regulator ordered the blocking of several recalcitrant sites. A ministerial decree, which came into force on June 7, 2025, then extended ARCOM's powers to sites hosted in another European Union country. This is particularly the case for the sites of the Aylo group, based in Luxembourg, which claims seven million daily visitors in France.

On June 4, 2025, protesting the decree that was about to come into force, the Aylo group announced the suspension of its three pornographic websites in France. This decision was welcomed by child protection associations and those fighting against sexual violence against women. On June 16, the Paris Administrative Court suspended the decree in question by means of an urgent interim order. The judge preferred to protect the activity of pornographic websites pending a future decision on the merits of the case. The Aylo group was therefore able to legally put YouPorn, Pornhub, and RedTube back online.

The government will appeal to the Court of Cassation to overturn the administrative court's decision. Do you think this appeal has a chance of success? Regardless of what the Council of State says, isn't this situation cruelly revealing the government's powerlessness to combat young people’s exposure to pornography?

The administrative court's ruling is open to debate. On one hand, the principle of the best interests of the child protects all minors up to the age of 18 and applies to all decisions concerning them. On the other hand, there are technical solutions that reconcile the best interests of the child with the “freedoms of adults.”

It is therefore possible to use a “double anonymity” verification system, whereby proof of age is provided by a third party who does not know what it will be used for, while the pornographic website only receives the proof of age without accessing the user's identity. Such a system is compatible with data protection and privacy, but the administrative court has not ruled on this specific point. The study “Better regulating access to pornography” (Priscille Kulczyk, ECLJ, 2023, available on the United Nations website) presents the advantages and disadvantages of several technical solutions.

The objective of protecting minors conflicts with the interests of the pornography industry. The latter benefits from the fact that some consumers can easily circumvent the restrictions imposed by public authorities, in particular by using VPNs, which allow them to connect as if they were abroad.

Furthermore, this industry is initiating multiple legal proceedings across Europe in order to remove any obstacles to its expansion. This even applies to groups that collaborate with public authorities and strive to project a “clean” and ethical image. I have personally experienced this after mentioning the Dorcel company in four media outlets, including Le Figaro. Dorcel's lawyer then sent a formal notice to these publications demanding that they remove the published content and sent me an email threatening legal action for defamation. Only Le Figaro resisted this attempted intimidation, keeping the article online, and no legal proceedings were ultimately brought.

French law allows ARCOM to take action against pornographic websites based in France or outside the European Union, but the administrative court's decision shows that this is more complex for websites based in an EU country. Why is Europe so slow to act on this important issue?

The inertia is not complete. Other pornographic platforms have been blocked due to the lack of effective age verification mechanisms. This is the case, for example, with Camschat, which was blocked following an ARCOM decision on March 6, 2025, this time upheld by a ruling of the Paris administrative court.

At the European Union level, the Digital Services Act (DSA) subjects the largest pornographic platforms, including Pornhub, to enhanced obligations regarding the protection of minors. On May 27, 2025, the European Commission used the DSA as a basis for opening an investigation into four pornographic platforms, including Pornhub, after concluding on a preliminary basis that they were not taking appropriate measures to put the best interests of children at the center of their operations, specifically through appropriate age verification of users. The Commission is also developing an age verification app that should be available in all Member States by this summer.

That said, the order from the Paris Administrative Court on June 16, 2025 shows that lawmakers continue to struggle with the European “country of origin” clause (e-commerce directive), which requires that digital services be subject only to the laws of the European country in which it is established. This clause means that many pornographic platforms are set up in countries with the most lenient regulations. The DSA merely mitigates this clause, which is not enough to combat the scourge of pornography among young people.

What are the practical consequences of minors accessing pornography?

First, it should be remembered that pornography has an impact on all consumers. Even after the age of 18, consumers report being less satisfied with their relationships and sex lives. Pornography is also addictive and impairs impulse control. It also damages the image of women, reducing them to sex objects and therefore too often to objects of sexual violence.

These consequences are even more pronounced in children and adolescents, as their brains are still developing. According to a 2022 report by the Council of Europe, the earlier consumption begins, the greater the risk of developing harmful gender stereotypes, pornography addiction, and early and unhealthy sexual relationships. This vulnerability among young people requires the implementation of a genuine policy to prevent pornography from replacing proper emotional, relational, and sexual education. Otherwise, raw, unbridled instinct will take over from civilized behavior.