Latest news with #FrenchCourt
Gizmodo
20-06-2025
- Business
- Gizmodo
Pornhub Back Online in France After Court Ruling About Age Verification
Many porn sites, including Pornhub, YouPorn, and RedTube, all went dark earlier this month in France to protest a new age verification law that would have required the websites to collect ID from users. But those sites went back online Friday after a new ruling from a French court suspended enforcement of the law until it can be determined whether it conflicts with existing European Union rules, according to France24. Aylo, the company that owns Pornhub, has previously said that requiring age verification 'creates an unacceptable security risk' and warned that setting up that kind of process makes people vulnerable to hacks and leaks of sensitive information. The French law would've required Aylo to verify user ages with a government-issued ID or a credit card. The company favors age verification methods that are done by large tech companies like Microsoft and Apple at the device level and told France24 that the suspension of the law is an 'opportunity to reconsider more efficient approaches' for age verification. The government of France plans to appeal the suspension of the law to the Council of State, the highest administrative court in the country, according to France24. France is Pornhub's second largest market behind the U.S., according to the company's own figures. The Philippines, Mexico, and the United Kingdom make up the rest of the top five countries that visit Pornhub by traffic. Pornhub didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. Age verification laws for porn websites has been a controversial issue globally, with the U.S. seeing a dramatic uptick in states passing such laws in recent years. Nineteen states now have laws that require age verification for porn sites, meaning that anyone who wants to access Pornhub in places like Florida and Texas need to use a VPN. Australia recently passed a law banning social media use for anyone under the age of 16, regardless of explicit content, which is currently making its way through the expected challenges. The law had a 12-month buffer built in to allow the country's internet safety regulator to figure out how to implement it. Tech giants like Meta and TikTok were dealt a blow on Friday after the commission issued a report stating that age verification 'can be private, robust and effective,' though trials are ongoing about how to best make the law work, according to ABC News in Australia.
Irish Times
28-05-2025
- Health
- Irish Times
Former French surgeon who abused children for decades sentenced to 20 years in jail
A French court on Wednesday found a retired surgeon guilty of the rape and sexual assault of patients, some of them whilst under anaesthetic, in a trial that has shaken France . Joël Le Scouarnec had told the court he committed 'despicable acts' over a 25-year period whilst he worked as doctor in western France, in a trial that has raised uncomfortable questions for the publicly run healthcare system. Le Scouarnec (74) was sentenced to 20 years in jail. Le Scouarnec's abuse of his patients, many them children at the time, is considered France's worst case of pedocriminality to go to trial. He stood accused of aggravated rape or sexual assault against 299 victims. READ MORE 'I'm aware that the harm I've caused is beyond repair,' Le Scouarnec told the opening of his trial in February. 'I owe it to all these people and their loved ones to admit my actions and their consequences, which they've endured and will keep having to endure all their lives,' he added. The trial took place at a time of reckoning around sex crimes in France after the conviction of Dominique Pelicot, who was found guilty in December of drugging his wife unconscious and inviting dozens of men to their home to rape her. Le Scouarnec is already serving jail time for earlier rape convictions. In 2020, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison for the rape and sexual assault of a child neighbour, as well as his two nieces and a four-year-old patient. Victims and their families have publicly asked why local and national health authorities failed to stop Le Scouarnec. In 2005, he was convicted of downloading images of child sexual abuse and received a suspended jail sentence, but managed to continue working in public hospitals. Several dozen victims and rights campaigners gathered outside the courthouse ahead of the verdict, holding a banner made of hundreds of pieces of white paper with black silhouettes, one for each victim. Some of the papers bore a first name and age, while others referred to the victim as 'Anonymous'. The extent of Le Scouarnec's abuse was revealed after his rearrest in 2017 on suspicion of raping his six-year-old neighbour. Police discovered electronic diaries that appeared to detail more than two decades of rapes and sexual assaults on young patients in hospitals across the region, as well as a cache of sex dolls, wigs and child pornography. The trial took place in Vannes, a small town in Brittany. The local prosecutor, whose office led the investigation into Le Scouarnec, has opened a separate investigation to ascertain if there was any criminal liability by agencies or individuals who could have prevented the abuse. – Reuters
