Adult content
In effect
- Bill / statute
- SREN Law (2024) + ARCOM standard
- Status
- Active law in effect
- Effective
- Jan 11, 2025
- Intrusiveness
- Severe -- Criminal penalties, VPN targeting, or repeated re-checks with long data retention.
The SREN Law (May 2024) and ARCOM's technical standard require pornographic sites reachable from France to verify users' ages every session, with at least one "double-anonymity" method. In force since Jan 11, 2025 (card-only checks barred after April 11, 2025). ARCOM issued formal notices in Aug 2025; penalties reach EUR 150,000 or 2% of turnover, and ARCOM can order ISP blocking within 48 hours (upheld by the Conseil d'Etat). A CJEU case over EU-established providers is pending, and President Macron is pushing a separate under-15 social-media ban.
Timeline
- May 21, 2024SREN law enacted
- Jan 11, 2025In effect
- Jan 11, 2025Mandatory age verification for adult sites in force
- Aug 1, 2025ARCOM issues formal notices to non-compliant sites
Source: arcom.fr
Social media
Scheduled
- Bill / statute
- Under-15 social-media ban (2026)
- Status
- Passed, not yet in effect
- Effective
- ~Sep 2026 (approx.)
- Intrusiveness
- High -- Broad reach: low or no content threshold, device/OS-level, or bundled with other verification.
Separate from the adult-content rules: in January 2026 the French National Assembly approved a government-backed bill (116-23) barring under-15s from social media and requiring platforms to verify age, with an exemption for educational resources. Championed by President Macron, it moved to the Senate where passage is expected, targeted to take effect around September 2026.
Timeline
- Jun 29, 2023First under-15 parental-consent law passed (unenforced)
- Jan 28, 2026National Assembly approves under-15 ban
- Jan 31, 2026Scheduled
- Sep 1, 2026In effect
- Sep 1, 2026Targeted enforcement
Source: biometricupdate.com
