France: Paris Administrative Court issued interim ruling suspending application of decree requiring age verification (Hammy Media LTD v French Authorities)

On 16 June 2025, the Paris Administrative Court ordered the suspension of the application of the decree dated 26 February 2025, which introduced mandatory age verification for accessing pornographic content online. The ruling, issued pending a final decision on the merits, followed an appeal by Hammy Media LTD, publisher of Xhamster website, contesting the obligation to implement such measures. The suspension is provisional and does not prejudge the legality of the decree. The French authorities have announced their intention to appeal the ruling before the Conseil d’État.