Pornhub Locks Out 68 Million Users Ahead of Britain’s Game-Changing Adult Content Crackdown

So, Pornhub just pulled a Houdini act in France—vanished overnight because of some fresh age verification laws that apparently got them spooked about user privacy. Now, the UK is eyeing the same move with its own version of “you must prove you’re an adult” checks landing this July. Seems like the days when ticking a box ‘I’m over 18’ was enough are officially ancient history. But here’s the kicker — Pornhub’s folks reckon that slapping age verification right on your device might be the smarter play, yet the powers-that-be in France disagree, opting for rules that the company calls “entirely symbolic” and “unenforceable.” Makes me wonder, will the UK follow France’s footsteps into a digital lockdown, or will this push the industry toward more clever tech solutions? Either way, one thing’s certain: privacy and access to adult content are about to get a hell of a lot more complicated. LEARN MORE

Pornhub has pulled out of a European country in protest against new laws, with the UK set to introduce similar legislation.

News broke earlier this year that stricter laws would be introduced when it came to age verification on adult websites.

In the past, users would have to verify that they were 18 or older by simply clicking a box – with no obligation to legally back their claim up.

Adult sites have already started to make moves in Europe, with Pornhub pulling out of France, with clampdowns on NSFW content taking shape over the summer.

Backlash over the European nation’s new age verification rules has caused the website to block access, as objections over a new law that requires porn sites to verify the age of users have persisted.

Late night searches won’t be so private anymore (Getty Stock Image)

The UK is next in line to introduce similar laws, come July, as ‘robust’ age checks are required to be in place by the end of the month.

Aylo, the adult entertainment company behind Pornhub, Youporn and RedTube, officially announced that they’d pulled their sites from all 68,000,000 people living in France.

They claimed that the French law in place would pose a privacy risk to users.

It remains unclear if the same porn websites would be blocked in the UK when the new law comes into play next month.

It’s been suggested that the law would require users to verify their age and identification through credit card details or other forms of ID to confirm they are 18 or older.

The company have stated that device-based age verification is better than asking porn websites to keep track of the age of users.

Alex Kekesi, Aylo’s VP for Brand and Community, stated: “All it requires is that the government enforce regulations on three companies – Apple, Google and Microsoft – the three operating system manufacturers requiring age verification at the device level prior to accessing adult content.”

Kekesi stated that the French authorities have ‘refused’ to take this approach, and ‘are focused on futile and entirely symbolic regulatory actions which are unenforceable’.

The adult website has been blocked in France (Nikolas Kokovlis/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

As a result, they claim that children are not protected and private data is exposed.

Pornhub is currently the world’s most visited porn site, and France is one of its biggest markets, ranking in second after the US in terms of audience size, in 2024.

Kekesi said that they have used their platforms to speak to French residents, adding: “French citizens deserve a government and a regulator who are serious about preventing children from accessing adult content.

“They also deserve laws which protect their privacy and safeguard their sensitive data.”

French Gender Minister Aurore Bergé took to X to claim that it might result in less ‘violent, degrading and humiliating content accessible to minors in France’.

She called Aylo’s move to pull their sites ‘good’ after they ‘refused to comply’ with their laws.

19 US states have also introduced age verification laws that apply to adult sites, in recent months.

LADbible has contacted Aylo for a comment.