This Tuesday, September 6, the Paris court examined the request to block five of the most visited pornographic sites in France: Pornhub, XVideos, XNXX, XHamster and Tukif, filed by Arcom (the Communication Regulatory Authority audiovisual and digital, heiress of the CSA). But this day was dedicated to a request for Priority Question of Constitutionality (QPC), a review of the legality of a law, filed by Pornhub to challenge the law on which the trial is based. The deliberation on this QPC has been set for October 4th and suspends for a few months the examination of the case on the merits. Technical blocking by Internet Service Providers will therefore struggle to become a reality this year.
This hearing was particularly awaited by the three child protection associations, the Observatory of Parenthood and Digital Education (Open), the National Union of Family Associations (Unaf) and the French Council of Associations for rights of the child (Cofrade), at the origin of the approach. They are the ones who seized the Arcom in November 2020. “This extended novel has been going on for too long. We are now waiting for the demonstration of the capacity of French justice to enforce the texts which are voted on by French deputies, ”said Thomas Rohmer, founder of the Open, contacted by RTL radio.
At the end of May, a first hearing had been adjourned due to a procedural error by Arcom. During the hearing, representatives of the telecom operators ordered to set up the blocking for minors and of the five sites targeted by Arcom since the end of December were ready to explain their positions.
Two other sites, YouPorn and Redtube, were also given formal notice in April by Arcom to prevent their access to minors, and could be part of an upcoming procedure.
The Penal Code prohibits exposing minors to pornographic photos and videos and the law on domestic violence of July 30, 2020 specifies that the companies concerned cannot exonerate themselves from their responsibilities by simply asking an Internet user if he is major. Because these sites often only include a simple “disclaimer” – a warning message allowing the Internet user to declare that they are of legal age – as the only measure aimed at restricting their access by minors.