P0rnhub has withdrawn its services from France in protest against new legislation requiring age verification for adult website users. The move follows mounting tensions between regulators and adult content platforms over how to prevent minors from accessing explicit material online.
The decision, announced by Aylo, the parent company of Pornhub, Youporn, and RedTube, means users in France can no longer access the world’s most visited porn site. Aylo cited privacy concerns over the French government’s requirement that users prove their age through potentially invasive methods, such as entering official ID or credit card details.
“French citizens deserve a government and a regulator who are serious about preventing children from accessing adult content. They also deserve laws which protect their privacy and safeguard their sensitive data,” said Alex Kekesi, Aylo’s Vice President for Brand and Community.
Kekesi argued that device-level age verification, enforced through operating systems like Apple’s iOS, Google’s Android, and Microsoft Windows, would be a more secure and effective method. “All it requires is that the government enforce regulations on three companies… the French government refuses to take this simple step and instead is focused on symbolic regulatory actions,” he said.
France’s Minister for Gender Equality, Aurore Bergé, responded firmly to the platform’s exit, writing on X: “Pornhub, Youporn, and RedTube refuse to comply with our legal framework and decide to leave. Good!” She added that their departure means “less violent, degrading and humiliating content accessible to minors in France.”
Pornhub has named France as its second-largest audience after the United States. The company said it would now use its platform to raise awareness among French citizens about what it sees as flawed policies.
The clampdown in France is part of a wider global trend. Nineteen U.S. states, including Texas, Arizona, and Virginia, have introduced similar age verification laws. In several of those states, Aylo has also restricted access rather than comply with the regulations. The European Commission has meanwhile launched investigations into several adult websites over failures to stop minors from accessing pornographic content.
In the UK, a law requiring platforms to implement “robust” age verification checks is set to take effect by July. It remains unclear whether Aylo will block access to its platforms in Britain as well.
