Purveyor of online pornography PornHub has returned to making its content available in French, just two weeks after an earlier voluntary shutdown.
Its first departure saw French users of the service struggle to access sexually explicit material online. Its owners, the Alyo group, called recently introduced age verification legislation “irresponsible, disproportionate, and ineffective,” before flouncing offline.
It now claims to have used the suspension period as “an opportunity to rethink more effective approaches” to restricting minors’ access to Pornhub and similar websites. In 2024, an Indiana judge ruled in favour of the company, warning that such measures would be unconstitutional. Conversely, France (and some European Union member states) at least appear interested in online child protection.
Alyo’s companion brands Youporn and Redtube are also likely to return as working websites in French, testing the effectiveness of the age verification measures in place.
