The Court of Appeals of Paris reveals. Last October, he validated the blockade of several pornographic sites, including Tukif and Xhamster, in France. They had been punished because they did not control the age of their visitors enough. In two trials issued on May 7, seen by the informed, the Paris Court of Appeals ordered the restoration of these two platforms.
In detail, he summoned the operators, including orange, free, Bouygues Telecom and SFR, to “be implemented, within fifteen days after this decision of the specific measures to allow the access of their subscribers, located in French territory” to both sites.
Potentially temporary unlock
Tukif and Xhamster can only be temporarily unlocked. The Paris Court of Appeals indicates that “the decision on the application for blocking” of the two sites “until the Judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union” suspended.
In March 2024, the CJUE was seized by the State Council to govern on the compatibility of the provisions of article 227-24 of the Criminal Code, which punishes for three years in prison and 75,000 euros fine the dissemination of the pornographic content if they are likely to be seen by a minor. Similarly, if access to this content depends on a simple statement indicating that the user is at least 18 years old.
The two platforms obtained the lifting of these blockages arguing that the response provided by the CJEU could “have an impact on the solution of this dispute” because they are not established in France. Tukif is based in Portugal, while Xhamster is based in Cyprus. Two countries in which the law “does not impose the implementation of a system to control the age of users of pornographic sites that are not declarative,” says the Paris Court of Appeals.
Therefore, the two platforms can claim the benefit of the country of origin, according to which it is not the right of the country where the service is provided, but that of the country of origin of the service provider. It remains to be seen what the Cjue decision will be.
Source: BFM TV
