Overview

• President Emmanuel Macron said social media use by under-15s will be banned “in the coming months” if bloc-wide age-verification measures stall
• France’s digital ministry is considering classifying X, Reddit and Bluesky as pornographic to compel them to enforce stringent age checks under new rules
• Age-verification requirements on porn sites took effect June 7, prompting Pornhub to withdraw from France and threatening noncompliant sites with fines or blocks
• The European Commission will trial a unified age-verification solution in five countries including France and has opened DSA probes into major adult platforms
• Stricter regulations have raised privacy and legal concerns under EU law and driven a surge in VPN use as users seek to circumvent restrictions