France’s National Assembly has passed the “Law Aiming to Secure and Regulate the Digital Space,” a comprehensive piece of legislation that includes provisions for regulating online adult content and mandating age verification. This development follows a period of heightened scrutiny on the adult industry and marks a significant shift in how online content is managed in France.

New Regulatory Powers and Adult Content

The “Law Aiming to Secure and Regulate the Digital Space” was passed by the French National Assembly with a vote of 360-77. Support came from a coalition of parties, including the Republican and Socialist parties, which aligned with the center-right Macron government. The far-left La France Insoumise party voted against the law, calling it “a mess,” while the Communist, Green, and far-right parties abstained.

The law, comprising 36 articles, is the result of 953 amendments to the original text. Its first section specifically addresses adult content, granting the government regulator ARCOM the authority to block adult sites from minors at its discretion, bypassing the French justice system. Senator Laurence Rossignol (Socialist) stated that the amendments, which stemmed from an anti-porn parliamentary report, “will complicate the life of publishers of porn sites,” adding, “That is the goal.”

The adult provisions of the law, proposed in May by the Macron government, were inspired by a desire to bypass the courts and compel platforms to implement age verification. This requirement extends beyond adult-specific sites to include any platform that allows explicit content, such as Twitter. Jean-Noël Barrot, Macron’s Minister for Digital Transition, celebrated the government’s plan to empower ARCOM to order the blocking and delisting of adult sites that do not prevent minors from accessing their content, without requiring court intervention.

Five popular adult sites in France—Pornhub, Tukif, xHamster, XVideos, and Xnxx—have been explicitly targeted by the government. In April, these sites presented objections to an age verification law that would allow ARCOM to seek a blocking order for sites failing to prevent minors from accessing unspecified “online pornography.” This age verification mandate was previously added to a domestic violence law in July 2020 during a sparsely attended COVID-era session of the French Parliament. Lawyers for the targeted sites had requested to nullify the proceedings and order a stay of the proposed block, but the tribunal repeatedly delayed its opinion, awaiting the passage of the “Law Aiming to Secure and Regulate the Digital Space” to render the case moot.

The new law also mandates the deployment of tools for age verification and addresses issues such as deepfakes and the non-consensual distribution of personal sex videos.

Broader Digital Regulation and Enforcement

Beyond adult content, the law addresses other digital issues. The second section, which faced objections from right-wing lawmakers, aims to protect the public from foreign propaganda, disinformation, and interference. It also criminalizes new forms of slander, bullying, and vaguely defined “sexist and sexual outrage.” The third part of the law regulates data protection.

The legislation was approved by the Senate on July 7 and will now return to a joint committee of the National Assembly before becoming law.

In October 2024, ARCOM, the Audiovisual and Digital Communication Regulatory Authority, announced new rules for adult operators and platforms with pornographic content. These rules, which came into effect on January 11, 2025, require that no content be shown to a user until their age has been verified. A transitional period for platforms to implement suitable age verification solutions ends on April 11. From this date, adult content sites must cease using temporary methods like bank card verification, employ age checks that are effective, privacy-preserving, and data minimizing, offer at least one ‘double blind approach,’ and use an age verification provider that is legally and technically independent of any online platform hosting or providing porn content.

Non-compliance with ARCOM’s rules can result in formal notification to comply. Continued failure may lead to a financial penalty of up to 4% of the website’s global annual revenue. ARCOM also has the power to require Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to block access to non-compliant websites nationwide.

This standard is part of a legislative process that began in 2020. Article 227-24 of the French Criminal Code, in effect since March 1, 1994, prohibits exposing minors to pornographic content. In 2020, the article was updated to specify that a simple declaration of age is insufficient to prove an individual is not a minor. In July 2020, Law No. 2020-936, aimed at protecting victims of domestic violence, introduced a special procedure enabling ARCOM to notify editors of pornographic sites to comply with the law and to ask courts to order noncompliant sites to be blocked. A decree was published under powers granted by Article 23 of Law No. 2020-936 concerning the implementation of these measures.

Social Media and Age Restrictions

France is also moving towards a ban for children younger than 15 from accessing social media, a step that would make it the second country globally to do so. This plan is supported by President Emmanuel Macron and his centrist Renaissance party. The proposed law passed the French parliament’s lower chamber in the early hours of Tuesday. The government is targeting September of this year for the ban to take effect. Macron stated, “As of September 1st, our children and adolescents will finally be protected. I will see to it.”

The bill now requires a vote by the French Senate, with Macron’s governing coalition aiming for a discussion on February 16. If the Senate approves the bill, a joint committee with representatives from both houses of parliament will be formed to finalize the text.

The decision on which platforms will be covered by the ban will rest with ARCOM, as the legislation itself does not specify. Laure Miller, the architect of the bill and a Renaissance lawmaker, has indicated it will be similar to Australia’s approach, likely banning under-15s from using Snapchat, TikTok, Instagram, and X. Australia already prohibits children under 16 from creating accounts on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Kick, Reddit, Snapchat, Threads, and TikTok.

Key Facts

  • The “Law Aiming to Secure and Regulate the Digital Space” passed the French National Assembly with a 360-77 vote.
  • The law grants ARCOM the power to block adult sites from minors at its discretion, bypassing the French justice system.
  • Five popular adult sites—Pornhub, Tukif, xHamster, XVideos, and Xnxx—have been explicitly targeted by the government.
  • ARCOM’s new rules, effective April 11, require adult content sites to implement effective, privacy-preserving, and data-minimizing age verification solutions, including at least one ‘double blind approach.’
  • Non-compliance with ARCOM’s rules can result in financial penalties of up to 4% of global annual revenue and nationwide blocking by ISPs.
  • France is also moving towards a ban on social media access for children under 15, with a target implementation date of September this year.