French Regulator Targets 31 Adult Websites in Age Verification Crackdown

PARIS — France’s media regulator, Arcom, announced Wednesday that it has launched enforcement action against 31 adult websites that the agency says have not complied with age verification requirements under the country’s Security and Regulation of the Digital Space (SREN) law.

In a statement, Arcom described the move as its largest age verification enforcement effort to date.

The regulator said it intends to use “various tools” available under French and European law to require the targeted services to introduce age verification measures.

The statement did not identify the websites or companies involved, nor did it specify where they are based. However, French technology news outlet BFM Tech reported that 13 websites are expected to be blocked or removed from search results through internet service providers, domain name resolution providers and search engines. According to that report, the sites include youjizz.com, pornoplus.com, amateurporn.com and hentaicity.com.

BFM Tech also reported that Arcom plans to coordinate with regulators in other European countries regarding 13 websites operating outside France. Those sites reportedly include balancetanude.fr, lebon.porn, tube8 and xhlive.net.

In June, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that France can require adult websites based in other EU member states to implement age verification under French law, provided the country follows European Union electronic commerce procedures. Those procedures require France to first ask the website’s home country to take appropriate measures to protect minors. If those measures are not adopted or enforced, France must then notify both the European Commission and the country of origin before introducing additional restrictions.

According to BFM Tech, Arcom is pursuing these actions because the websites did not respond to the regulator’s requests to implement age verification.

Five additional websites have received a “letter of observation,” the first step in Arcom’s enforcement process, and have 15 days to respond before further measures may be taken, according to BFM Tech. Those sites include borntobefuck, pornoone.com and xfrenchies.

Arcom said that since February 2025, 35 of the most-visited adult websites in France have either introduced age verification systems, stopped making pornographic content available in the country, or been blocked following requests from the regulator.

In September 2025, Arcom announced plans to broaden its enforcement of age verification requirements to include smaller adult websites. The latest enforcement actions appear to extend that initiative.