PARIS — French media regulator Arcom has issued formal notices to the operators of three adult websites that the agency says have failed to implement age verification as required under French law.
In July, in its most extensive AV enforcement action to date, Arcom targeted 31 sites that it said had failed to implement age verification. Some of those websites received “letters of observation” initiating Arcom’s enforcement procedures and were given 15 days to respond before facing further action.
Three sites have since been the subject of further action: Borntobefuck.com, operated by Novamart Limited; PornOne.com, published by Traffic Ready SA; and xFrenchies.com.
According to Arcom, Borntobefuck allows access to any user in France who simply declares that they are of legal age, a procedure that it notes “does not guarantee that only adults are likely to access the pornographic content available.”
PornOne, the agency reports, allows access to French users who verify their ages through the service AgeVerif, but the agency deems the methods used by AgeVerif — age estimation via PayPal account or email address — to be insufficient, and states that “pornographic content is likely to be made accessible to minors” on the site.
Arcom reports that xFrenchies does not employ age verification of any kind.
The agency has ordered all three sites to take measures to prevent minors from accessing pornographic content on their services. In past cases, Arcom has sought blocking and delisting of sites found to be noncompliant with AV regulations. Under France’s penal code, however, making pornography accessible to minors is punishable by three years’ imprisonment and a fine of 75,000 euros.
According to Arcom, since February 2025, 35 of the most frequently visited adult sites in France have either implemented age verification solutions, no longer offer pornographic content in the country, or have been blocked at Arcom’s request.
In September 2025, Arcom announced a plan to escalate its enforcement of age verification rules to include smaller adult sites as well. The July actions and the resulting orders appear to represent an expansion of that strategy.
