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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