A number of countries and American states across the world have recently enacted laws that block popular adult video website Pornhub for certain users, yet one nation with 68,000,000 people has recently reversed its decision to gate off the site after encountering legal issues.
While the internet was once considered a free and almost wild west-like digital terrain, it has increasingly become more regulated over time - especially as officials raise concerns over child safety.
Adult pornography sites remain among the most visited places on the web - with Pornhub reigning supreme as the 18th most popular destination overall for internet users according to Similarweb - yet that hasn't stopped it from facing significant blocks in certain countries.
Why was Pornhub blocked in France?
Earlier this month the French government enacted an age verification ban on Pornhub, making it so that anyone would need to provide either their credit card or official government ID in order to enter the website.
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This serves as a far stricter and more effective proof of age scheme than the previously simple yes or no question all users were asked upon entry to the site, and it mirrors similar processes in places like Florida.
Many users have taken to using a virtual private network (VPN) in order to circumvent the ban, which dupes their internet browser into thinking they're in another non-banned country when accessing Pornhub, and the website itself issued a clear statement of opposition to the regulation.
What has caused it to be unblocked?
However, following a decision made by the Administrative Court of Paris, Pornhub has now been fully reinstated in France and users can now access the site without inputting any official age verification documents, as reported by Mashable.
The decision was made after it was deemed that France didn't follow EU law in blocking Pornhub, which dictates that you cannot regulate a company based in another EU state without notifying the host company and the European Commission.
While France outlines that it notified Cyprus, where Pornhub owner Aylo is based, and waited the appropriate three months before implementing the change, it's unclear whether it notified the European Commission as well.
What has Pornhub said following the ruling?
Pornhub's parent company Aylo has reiterated its support for rules that block children from accessing content on its sites, but it has proposed a different method to what has already been implemented by the French government and others across the globe.
Speaking to Mashable over email, Aylo outlined: "While important questions about the implementation of the law in France are being considered, we maintain that French citizens deserve regulation that will prevent children from accessing adult content that can be effectively enforced.
"They also deserve that their privacy and sensitive data be protected. Again, we believe the current approach faces significant challenges in achieving these important goals."
It remains that many are concerned and unwilling to hand over personal and sensitive information in order to simply access a website, and Aylo has also suggested implementing device-wide filters that block all adult content for users under a certain age.
This would not only extend the ban to all adult content - as opposed to targeting specific sites like Pornhub while ignoring others - but it would also allow all other users over the age limit to use the internet as normal.
"We are determined to be part of this solution and want to collaborate with government, civil society and tech partners to arrive at an effective device-based age verification solution," Aylo maintained.
However, Clara Chappaz, France's digital minister, has expressed her commitment to re-enabling the age verification block on Pornhub, and illustrated it as a priority in a recent post on X.