France: French authorities announced appeal to Council of State against court decision suspending age verification decree (Hammy Media LTD v French Authorities)

On 18 June 2025, the Minister Delegate for Artificial Intelligence and Digital Affairs announced that the French authorities will appeal the decision of the Paris Administrative Court dated 16 June 2025. The appeal will be lodged before the Council of State, with the aim of reinstating the immediate obligation for websites covered by the decree of 26 February 2025 to implement an age verification mechanism. The Minister reaffirmed the government's position that protecting minors online is a political priority. The underlying decision, issued by the Paris Administrative Court, ordered the suspension of the application of the decree pending a ruling on the merits. It followed an appeal brought by Hammy Media LTD, publisher of the website Xhamster, contesting the requirement to verify the age of users accessing adult content.