Pornhub owner to suspend site in France in protest at new verification law
Guardian2 days
Pornhub Blocks Access in France Over Age Verification Laws
Above: A phone screen is opened on a Google internet search of the PORNHUB pornographic website in Lyon in France on June 3 2025. Image copyright: Matthieu Delaty/Contributor/AFP via Getty Images
The Spin
Liberal narrative
France's draconian age verification mandates represent a chilling assault on digital privacy and adult autonomy. By forcing citizens to surrender intimate personal data to access legal content, the government transforms private consumption into surveilled activity. When major platforms choose exodus over compliance, it exposes these laws as fundamentally flawed, creating dangerous data vulnerabilities while infantilizing adults under the pretense of protecting France's children.
Progressive narrative
France's commitment to protecting minors from pornographic exploitation reflects moral clarity in the digital age. When industry giants like Pornhub choose to abandon French users rather than implement basic age verification safeguards, they expose their prioritization of profits over child protection. France's rigorous standards, demanding robust identity verification and "double anonymity" protocols, demonstrate that nations can indeed choose children's welfare over corporate convenience.