French Gov't Appeals Court Ruling Blocking Age Verification Law

PARIS—The French government is appealing a court decision issued by the Administrative Court of Paris that found the SREN age verification law in direct conflict with the European Union's transnational regulations on digital commerce, reports Euractiv.  Clara Chappaz, the French digital minister, posted on X, "I remain fully committed to enforcing age verification requirements on all pornographic sites. The government is appealing the decision. This fight is my priority." AVN reported yesterday that the French government's SREN age verification law was suspended on Monday because of the judicial body. Euractiv reports that the court suspended Arcom, France's digital regulator, from enforcing age verification requirements on adult entertainment platforms that are based in other European Union member states. Hammy Media, the parent company of xHamster.com, and Aylo's European operations for Pornhub.com, are based in Cyprus. Cyprus has been a member of the European Union membership bloc since 2004. This is important to understand because EU law prevents one member state from regulating another company based elsewhere in the bloc without appropriate regulatory and legal obstacles being resolved by the European Commission and the pan-European courts.