LUXEMBOURG—The European Union's highest court ruled in favor of the French government on Tuesday in its bid to conduct age verification on foreign pornography websites on a case-by-case basis.
The Court of Justice of the European Union agreed with arguments made by France that it has the sovereign right to enforce its age verification laws on websites based outside of their sphere of influence. This applies to the other member states across the continental bloc of nations.
A legal challenge to the French law was brought by attorneys representing WebGroup Czech Republic and NKL Associates, the affiliated parent firms that own and operate XVideos and XNXX. The companies argued before the court that the French law contradicts the bloc's e-commerce directive. Under the directive, the European Union essentially operates as a single digital space and relies on a so-called country of origin principle.
That principle typically allows for all online platform operators to only be subject to the laws of the country for which they are based and operated. This was designed to ensure that the supremacy of the European Union was consistent and that technology companies didn't have to comply with 27 different sets of laws and digital regulations.
Despite that directive, the court said French authorities can enforce age check regimes on adult entertainment platforms, even if the companies are headquartered out of an EU member state like the Czech Republic or Cyprus, thus potentially subjecting them to penalties from both France and their own contries of origin. Cyprus is home to a constellation of Aylo-affiliated tech companies that operate Pornhub, MyDirtyHobby and other platforms in their network of free sites and pay sites.
“Such measures may nevertheless be taken, on a case-by-case basis, in compliance with the material and procedural conditions set out in the directive,” said Thomas von Danwitz, vice-president of the EU Court of Justice, in explaining the court's move away from the country of origin principle.
Enforcement is likely to target Aylo and WebGroup Czech Republic given previous rows between those companies and French regulators.
