Overview

• PS deputy Thierry Sother filed a referral to Arcom on Thursday after Free began offering a no-cost VPN to its mobile customers.
• He argues the tool can mask a user's IP address and simulate connections from countries like Italy or the Netherlands, enabling minors to evade age gates.
• Free says VPNs are widely available, adds that its mobile parental controls remain active even when the VPN is used, and notes tools for parents to manage a child's secondary line.
• Sother urges Arcom to require Free to modify or withdraw the service to uphold the age-verification regime and warns it could also frustrate future youth protections such as a proposed social media age bar.
• Arcom recently reported that five porn sites added age checks after August warnings, while Aylo kept its platforms suspended in France, and its study found nearly 40% of children visit porn sites monthly.