The Pornhub, Tukif and Xhamster, Xnxx and Xvideos pornographic sites are in the crosshairs of Arcom and justice and could soon no longer be accessible in France. But the blockage will be easy to circumvent…
It could soon be more difficult to watch X videos on the Web in France. At least, on Pornhub, Porndig, Xhamster, Xnxx and Xvideos, five of the most popular porn sites. These platforms had been turning a deaf ear since December 13, when the Audiovisual and Digital Communication Regulatory Authority (Arcomwhich replaces the CSA and the Hadopi since 1er January) had sent them formal notices asking them to act as provided by law so that minors can no longer access their content. Three associations were at the origin of these formal notices: The Parenthood and Digital Education Observatory (Open), National Union of Family Associations (Unaf) and the French Council of Associations for the Rights of the Child (Cofrade), the idea being to protect children. At the same time, Arcom sent a “request for observations from the publisher of the Youporn and Redtube sites which may possibly be followed by formal notices for ignorance of the provisions of article 227-24 of the penal code”.
Adult content: a lip service warning
These sites explain perfectly on their homepage that they are pornographic and that access is prohibited to minors: “This website, reserved for an adult and informed public, complies with all the French regulations in force. It contains texts, photos and videos classified X which may offend the sensibilities of certain people”. But their will comes down to this meager announcement. It is indeed easy for a child, whatever his age, whether he is 10 years old, whether he is pre-teen or almost-adult teenager to click on the Enter button by certifying on his honor “to have taken knowledge of the pornographic nature of this site and to be of legal age according to the laws in force in my state or my country”. In short, a purely formal warning that in no way prevents you from seeing pornographic content.
Despite the formal notice of December 13, none of the five sites had reacted in any way whatsoever and no additional measures had been put in place. Invoking article 23 of the law of July 30, 2020, the Arcom therefore passed Tuesday, March 8 at high speed by seizing the President of the Paris Court of Justice to order the main Internet Service Providers (ISPs), i.e. Bouygues, Free, Orange and SFR in particular to prevent the access to Pornhub, Pornhub and Xhamster, Xnxx and Xvideos. Justice must now decide and may decide that the sites of the publishers of Pornhub, Tukif and Xhamster, Xnxx and Xvideos are no longer accessible from French territory or by their addresses located on the territory. The companies MG Freesites Ltd (Cyprus) publisher of Pornhub, Fedrax Lda (Portugal) for Tukif, Hammy Media Ltd (Cyprus) for Xhamster, NKL Associates sro (Czech Republic) for Xnxx and WebGroup Czech Republic (Czech Republic) for Xvideos. If justice gives its green light then ” Internet users who seek to consult these sites will then be automatically redirected to an information page explaining the reason for this blocking”, indicates the Arcom.
Pornographic sites: an easy block to circumvent
Well aware of the infinite possibilities offered by the Internet, Arcom wanted to anticipate the creation of mirror sites, that is to say perfect twins of these pornographic sites and simply presented under another name. The Arcom therefore specifies that “if necessary, the President of Arcom may also refer to the President of the Paris Court of Justice if he finds that the blocked sites are made accessible from other addresses (“mirror sites”) and that they remain accessible to minors In addition, he may ask the judge to order the delisting of sites by search engines and directories”.
This is not the first time that Arcom has sought to block access to certain sites. This was the case last February when a court decision forced ISPs to block pirate sites and services broadcasting Champions League football matches. But nothing is ever really hidden on the web. Even if the sites are delisted and no longer appear in search engines (Google, Bing, Qwant and others), all it takes is a little research to find them. But teenagers lack neither imagination nor reflexes to achieve what they want.
Install a VPN, a server that allows the Internet user to virtually relocate from France, i.e. to make the ISP believe that he is in a foreign country with no regulations against X-rated sites , is one such method. But VPNs have a cost and teenagers don’t necessarily have a bank card to buy one… The other method consists of modifying the DNS of the computer. You just need to know a minimum of the settings of the computer parameters, whether it is a PC or a Mac, and the operation takes place in three minutes flat. There is no doubt that teenagers will be able to give each other the tip on WhatsApp loops or TikTok tutorials. Access to porn sites will therefore be a little more complicated, of course, but not impossible. However, parents can also act by activating or installing extremely strict parental controls on their children’s computers or via their Internet box.