The Arcom once again bangs its fist on the table. The YouPorn and RedTube pornographic sites have been ordered by the French audiovisual and digital regulator to block their access to minors, before exposing themselves to a stoppage of their service by court order, according to formal notices published Wednesday in the Official newspaper.
Last December, the regulator had already urged five other porn sites – Pornhub, Tukif, Xhamster, Xvideos, Xnxx – to comply with French regulations. In the absence of a reaction from them, he then took legal action in early March to request their blocking.
Explanations deemed unconvincing
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.
However, according to the findings of bailiffs made in February, YouPorn and RedTube are accessible after a “simple declaration of majority on which it is enough to click”, indicates Arcom in the two formal notices. The regulator points out that it requested clarification on these breaches at the beginning of March from MG Freesites, the publisher of the two sites, domiciled in Cyprus.
Explanations ultimately deemed unconvincing by Arcom, which urges MG Freesites to take the necessary measures within 15 days of notification of this formal notice. If the same shortcomings were to be observed, the regulator could once again take legal action to order the main Internet service providers to prevent access to YouPorn and RedTube.