EU states may impose age checks on foreign-based porn sites on case-by-case basis (update*)
By Sara Brandstätter ( June 16, 2026, 10:49 GMT | Insight) -- The EU Court of Justice has ruled that porn websites established in other EU member states may be required to comply with national age-verification requirements — provided those obligations are imposed through service-specific measures that satisfy the safeguards in the e-Commerce Directive. The court also held that platforms that use algorithms to determine how user information is distributed exercise control over that information, and therefore may lose the liability exemption available to neutral hosting providers.Pornography websites that are viewed in France — but established elsewhere in the EU — may be required to comply with French age-verification requirements, provided the conditions laid down in the e-Commerce Directive are met, the EU Court of Justice ruled today....
Prepare for tomorrow’s regulatory change, today
MLex identifies risk to business wherever it emerges, with specialist reporters across the globe providing exclusive news and deep-dive analysis on the proposals, probes, enforcement actions and rulings that matter to your organization and clients, now and in the longer term.
Know what others in the room don’t, with features including:
- Daily newsletters for Antitrust, M&A, Trade, Data Privacy & Security, Technology, AI and more
- Custom alerts on specific filters including geographies, industries, topics and companies to suit your practice needs
- Predictive analysis from expert journalists across North America, the UK and Europe, Latin America and Asia-Pacific
- Curated case files bringing together news, analysis and source documents in a single timeline
Experience MLex today with a 14-day free trial.