It starts like this: you click to watch a video, and suddenly a pop-up demands your ID. Not a password. Not an age check box. An actual proof of adulthood. Sound dystopian? Or maybe just awkward? In France, that’s about to become the new normal.
On June 1, the French government began enforcing its new anti-porn access law—a well-intentioned but fiercely debated attempt to block underage viewers from visiting porn sites. Supporters call it child protection. Critics? They’re calling it digital surveillance wrapped in moral panic.
Somewhere between those poles lies the messy truth.
The French Government Wants to “Make Access Harder”—Not Eliminate It
Here’s the official line: the law isn’t meant to be foolproof. It’s meant to raise the bar.
The idea is simple enough—too many minors are watching porn, much of it violent or degrading. So France now requires adult sites to verify users’ ages through certified third-party tools. No verification? The site can be blocked. It’s that blunt.
Minister for Digital Transition Jean-Noël Barrot put it clearly: “We must protect our children.” The government even launched a campaign warning parents that by age 13, most French children have seen porn online. Some studies say the average exposure age is even younger.
So, yes—there’s a problem.
But here's the catch: the solution might invite another kind of danger.
Privacy Advocates Are Waving Big, Red Flags
Pornhub’s parent company, Aylo, is suing the French state. And it’s not alone. Civil liberties groups are raising alarms about what third-party age verification actually means in practice.
Think about it: how do you prove you’re over 18 online without giving away something personal?
The proposed solutions include:
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Facial recognition scans
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Bank ID verification
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National ID checks via private verification firms
Any of that sound airtight to you? Or safe?
Privacy experts argue that this turns adult entertainment into a surveillance test case. What happens to that data? What stops bad actors from misusing it—or governments from overreaching later?
This isn’t just about porn. It’s about precedent.
As La Quadrature du Net, a French digital rights group, put it: “You normalize ID-based browsing now, and tomorrow, you normalize ID-based everything.”
A Messy Balancing Act—But Is Anyone Actually Listening?
Here’s the weird thing. Everyone in this debate is technically “right.”
Yes, minors shouldn’t be easily accessing extreme adult content. Yes, adults deserve privacy online. And yes, relying on tech companies to gatekeep morality feels like passing the buck.
But what France has launched isn’t a comprehensive solution—it’s a gamble. One that assumes:
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Tech companies will play nice
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Users will comply
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Hackers and data leakers won’t find loopholes
Except… they always do.
And beyond the tech, there’s a social question here too: Why are we only now trying to deal with this at the national level? Shouldn’t platforms themselves have acted earlier? Or parents? Or educators?
Maybe the problem isn’t just access. It’s absence—of dialogue, responsibility, and yes, regulation that respects both safety and freedom.
So, Will the Ban “Work”?
Define “work.”
If the goal is to block some minors, it might succeed—briefly. But if the goal is to create a safe, censorship-free digital space for everyone? That’s still a work in progress.
The UK tried something similar in 2019. It failed.
Germany’s still figuring it out.
And France? Well, it’s just entered the arena—and already, its legal battles are mounting.
So maybe this law isn’t a finish line. It’s a line in the sand.
Let’s just hope it doesn’t wash away with the next wave of lawsuits or hacks.
Maybe the real question isn’t who’s watching porn—but who’s watching the watchers.
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