Mndgeek’s appeal to France’s constitutional court appears to have been denied. According to insiders, age verification of adult sites — or a nationwide block in France — appears to be next.

The French news website laprovence, reported on this issue. The Court of Cassation, the highest French judicial court, refused this Thursday to address to the Constitutional Council the priority question of constitutionality (QPC) of the pornographic platform Pornhub, threatened with blocking by justice if it does not prevent access minors to its contents. The platform, belonging to the global porn giant MindGeek, is one of five sites given formal notice by Arcom (ex-CSA) at the end of 2021 to introduce age control for their visitors. Lack of reaction from the sites, Arcom asked the president of the court to order their blocking by the operators. Pornhub, which seized the Court of Cassation in early October - a QPC must first pass the filter of the Court of Cassation or the Council of State before being submitted to the Constitutional Council -, believes that the procedure followed by the Arcom does not comply with the constitutional principles of " legality of offenses and penalties " and of " freedom of expression and communication ", because the offense with which it is charged is not defined " in sufficiently clear and precise. " In its judgment, the Court of Cassation explains in particular that the " question posed is not of a serious nature. " It also considers that the infringement of freedom of expression by imposing the use of a device for verifying the age of the person accessing pornographic content is " necessary, appropriate, and proportionate to the objective of protecting minors ", thus closing QPC's request. The law of July 30, 2020, provides that a simple declaration of majority to access pornographic sites is no longer sufficient and that an age verification is necessary, but without specifying the process.