FRANCE: PORN SITES GO ON "STRIKE" AGAINST AGE VERIFICATION LAW, MINISTER SAYS "ALL THE BETTER"

PARIS • Online porn giants like Pornhub and YouPorn have announced they will cease operations in France starting June 3, 2025. Their parent company, Aylo, is protesting the new age verification law, calling it "irresponsible and ineffective." The Minister for Gender Equality welcomes the news.

Paris, June 3, 2025 – In an unprecedented move in the French digital landscape, some of the web's largest pornographic websites, including Pornhub, YouPorn, and Redtube, have declared they will halt their operations in France starting today. This drastic decision is a direct protest against the new French legislation that mandates compulsory age verification for accessing content.

Aylo, the parent company of these platforms, stated that the dissemination of pornographic content will cease at midnight. Instead of videos and images, French users will, from tomorrow, be met with a striking screen: the iconic image of Marianne, symbol of the French Republic, accompanied by the provocative statement: "Freedom has no off buttons."

Aylo has sharply criticized the French law, labeling it "irresponsible, disproportionate, and ineffective." The government's response was swift and equally direct: the Minister for Gender Equality dismissed the matter with a terse "if they leave, all the better."