Adult World News

A French Court of Appeals in Paris has ruled that certain porn websites are subject to a national age verification requirement adopted under a 2020 French law.

The ruling applies to websites that don't operate in European Union member states.

Websites Tukif, xHamster, MrSexe, and IciPorno, all non-EU platforms, must adopt more rigorous age verification measures within 15 days or else they will be blocked by French ISPs.

Porn websites are currently under duress via the EU and the websites are presently challenging Digital Services Act rules.

The Court of Appeal ruled that:

Children's general interest was an overriding consideration which may justify infringement of other rights such as freedom of expression or communication.

Giving priority to the protection of the private lives of adult consumers, by ruling out age verification, is incompatible with the protection of minors.

AVN also reported on a national age verification requirement granting Arcom, the audiovisual and internet censor for France, the right to enforce age-verification rules.

Ofcom writes:

Parliament set us a deadline of April 2025 to finalise our codes and guidance on illegal harms and children's safety. We will finalise our illegal harms codes and guidance ahead of this deadline. Our expected timing for key milestones over the next year -- which could change -- include:

• December 2024: Ofcom will publish first edition illegal harms codes and guidance. Platforms will have three months to complete illegal harms risk assessment.

• January 2025: Ofcom will finalise children's access assessment guidance and guidance for pornography providers on age assurance. Platforms will have three months to assess whether their service is likely to be accessed by children.

• February 2025: Ofcom will consult on best practice guidance on protecting women and girls online, earlier than previously planned. March 2025: Platforms must complete their illegal harms risk assessments, and implement appropriate safety measures.

• April 2025: Platforms must complete children's access assessments. Ofcom to finalise children's safety codes and guidance. Companies will have three months to complete children's risk assessment.

• Spring 2025: Ofcom will consult on additional measures for second edition codes and guidance.

• July 2025: Platforms must complete children's risk assessments, and make sure they implement appropriate safety measures.

We will review selected risk assessments to ensure they are suitable and sufficient, in line with our guidance, and seek improvements where we believe firms have not adequately mitigated the risks they face. Ready to take enforcement action.

Ofcom has the power to take enforcement action against platforms that fail to comply with their new duties, including imposing significant fines where appropriate. In the most serious cases, Ofcom will be able to seek a court order to block access to a service in the UK, or limit its access to payment providers or advertisers.

We are prepared to take strong action if tech firms fail to put in place the measures that will be most impactful in protecting users, especially children, from serious harms such as those relating to child sexual abuse, pornography and fraud.

A bill sponsored by Thailand's recently banned Move Forward Party to legalise the adult entertainment industry and its products, including pornographic materials and sex toys, failed to clear its first reading in the House.

The bill was proposed by Bangkok MP Taopiphop Limjittrakorn early last month to amend Section 287 of the Criminal Code, which bans all types of adult materials, including pornographic images and sex toys.

Speaking in favour of the amendment, Move Forward MPs argued that banning the adult entertainment industry was akin to restricting people's freedom to choose their profession.

Sorapa Sriprat, a party MP for Saraburi, said that maintaining the current law means the country fails to accept reality and is a society built on hypocrisy. He argued the ban on sex toys forces some individuals to seek alternative ways to manage their sexual desires, which can sometimes lead to sexual violence.

Duangrit Benjathikulchairungruang, a list-MP for the United Thai Nation Party, part of the military controlled coalition government, argued the amendment could cause more harm than good if it fails to provide adequate legal protection for individuals vulnerable to sexual abuse.

X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, updated its adult content rules to clarify how adult content may be posted and viewed.

The new policy states that users may share consensually produced and distributed adult nudity or sexual behavior, provided it's properly labeled and not prominently displayed. The policy also establishes a specific Adult Content warning, instead of the generic Sensitive Media label.

The new rules from the X website read:

You may share consensually produced and distributed adult nudity or sexual behavior, provided it's properly labeled and not prominently displayed.

We believe that users should be able to create, distribute, and consume material related to sexual themes as long as it is consensually produced and distributed. Sexual expression, whether visual or written, can be a legitimate form of artistic expression. We believe in the autonomy of adults to engage with and create content that reflects their own beliefs, desires, and experiences, including those related to sexuality. We balance this freedom by restricting exposure to Adult Content for children or adult users who choose not to see it. We also prohibit content promoting exploitation, nonconsent, objectification, sexualization or harm to minors, and obscene behaviors. We also do not allow sharing Adult Content in highly visible places such as profile photos or banners.

How we define Adult Content

Adult Content is any consensually produced and distributed material depicting adult nudity or sexual behavior that is pornographic or intended to cause sexual arousal. This also applies to AI-generated, photographic or animated content such as cartoons, hentai, or anime. Examples include depictions of:

• full or partial nudity, including close-ups of genitals, buttocks, or breasts;

• explicit or implied sexual behavior or simulated acts such as sexual intercourse and other sexual acts.

How to mark your content

If you regularly post adult content on X, we ask that you please adjust your media settings. Doing so places all your images and videos behind a content warning that needs to be acknowledged before your media can be viewed. You can also add a one-time content warning on individual posts. If you continue to fail marking your posts, we will adjust your account settings for you.

Users under 18 or viewers who do not include a birth date on their profile cannot click to view marked content. Learn more about age restricted content here .