France: Council of State ruling on Interministerial order of 26 February 2025 on the application of age verification obligations under the SREN Law (Decision No. 505472)

On 15 July 2025, the Council of State in Decision No. 505472, rejected the request to suspend the interministerial order of 26 February 2025 that imposed an obligation on certain pornographic content services established in other Member States of the European Union to implement age verification systems in accordance with the framework defined by the Regulatory Authority for Audiovisual and Digital Communication (Arcom). The court found that the applicant, a foreign-based provider, failed to demonstrate that the contested order caused serious and immediate harm to its economic situation, and that the measure did not constitute a prohibition on distributing pornographic content to adults. The order was found to be consistent with the objective of protecting minors, as required by the Law of 21 May 2024 on securing and regulating the digital space (SREN Law), which mandates that online public communication services and video-sharing platforms implement age verification mechanisms based on the Arcom framework. The Council of State also ruled that there was no infringement of freedom of expression or privacy rights, and emphasised the public interest in preventing minors from accessing pornographic material. As the condition of urgency under Article L. 521-1 of the Code of Administrative Justice (CJA) was not met, the court declined to assess the legality of the order or the priority question of constitutionality raised by the applicant. The SREN Law further authorises Arcom to impose sanctions and request access restrictions where violations are identified.