Decision of April 16, 2025 giving notice to Pornovore concerning the Pornovore service

The French regulatory authority for audiovisual and digital communication,

Having regard to article 227-24 of the French Penal Code ;

Having regard to law no. 2004-575 of June 21, 2004 on confidence in the digital economy, in particular article 10-1 ;

Having regard to decree no. 2024-1181 of December 16, 2024 relating to the procedures for authorizing agents of the French regulatory authority for audiovisual and digital communication and implementing articles 6-8, 10-1 and 11 of law no. 2004-575 of June 21, 2004;

Having regard to the statement of offence drawn up by an authorized and sworn agent of the French regulatory authority for audiovisual and digital communication on February 12, 2025, relating to the Pornovore service accessible from the Internet address: https://pornovore.fr ;

Having regard to the letter dated March 6, 2025 by which the French regulatory authority for audiovisual and digital communication sent its reasoned observations to the company Pornovore, to which the latter replied by two e-mails dated March 19 and March 25, 2025, receipt of which was acknowledged by the Authority in an e-mail dated April 1, 2025;

Having regard to the statement of offence drawn up by an authorized and sworn agent of the French regulatory authority for audiovisual and digital communication on April 1, 2025, relating to the Pornovore service accessible from the Internet address: https://pornovore.fr.

Considering the following

On the legal manager

1. On the one hand, under the provisions of article 227-24 of the French Penal Code: "The act of manufacturing, transporting or diffusing by any means whatsoever and whatever the medium, a pornographic message (. . .) (. . .), or of trading in such a message, is punishable by three years' imprisonment and a penalty notice of 75,000 euros when the message is likely to be seen or perceived by a person under 18. /(. . .)The infringements provided for in the present article are constituted even if access by a person under 18 to the messages mentioned in the first paragraph is the result of a simple declaration by that person indicating that he or she is at least eighteen years of age".

2. On the other hand, by virtue of the provisions of article 10-1 of the aforementioned law no. 2004-575 of June 21, 2004: "I- When a person whose activity is to provide an online public communication service under its editorial responsibility or to provide a video-sharing platform service allows minors to have access to pornographic content in breach of article 227-24 of the French Penal Code, the French regulatory authority for audiovisual and digital communication shall inform it of its reasoned observations by letter, delivered by any means capable of establishing the date of receipt. From the date of receipt, the addressee of this letter has a period of fifteen days in which to submit his or her observations. / On expiry of this period, the French regulatory authority for audiovisual and digital communication may give formal notice to the person under 18 mentioned in the first paragraph of this I to take, within a period of fifteen days, any measure likely to prevent access by minors to this content. The French regulatory authority for audiovisual and digital communication shall publish this formal notice.

The facts of the case

3. According to the statement of offence drawn up on February 12, 2025 by an authorized and sworn agent of the French regulatory authority for audiovisual and digital communication, access to the pornographic content offered on the service Pomovore, published by the company of the same name and accessible from the address https://pomovore.fr, was not subject to verification of the user's age.

4. This scheme does not guarantee that the pornographic content available on the Pornovore service can only be accessed by people of legal age, in accordance with the provisions of article 227-24 of the French Penal Code.

5. In a letter dated March 6, 2025, the French regulatory authority for audiovisual and digital communication sent its reasoned comments to Pomovore, inviting it to submit its observations within fifteen days of receipt.

6. Société Pornovore presented its observations by two e-mails dated March 19 and March 25, 2025, which do not call into question the reality of the breach of the aforementioned provisions of article 227-24 of the French penal code.

7. According to the statement of offence drawn up on April 1, 2025 by an authorized and sworn agent of the French regulatory authority for audiovisual and digital communication, access to the pornographic content offered on the Pomovore service, published by the company of the same name and accessible from the address https://pomovore.fr, is provided under the same conditions as those observed on February 12, 2025, which do not guarantee that only an adult public is likely to access this content.

8. It follows from the above that pornographic content is being made available to persons under 18 on the Pomovore service, in breach of article 227-24 of the French Penal Code. Consequently, the present formal notice should be issued.

Decides

Art. 1 er. - The Pornovore company is hereby ordered to take all necessary measures to prevent access by persons under 18 to pornographic content on the Pornovore service, within fifteen days of notification of this decision.

Art. 2 - The present decision will be notified to Pornovore and published in the Journal officiel de la République française.

Paris, April 16, 2025.

For the French regulatory authority for audiovisual and digital communication :

Chairman

M. AJDARI