1/5 Today, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled on France’s age-verification rules for pornographic websites under the EU #eCommerceDirective.

🏛️ The verdict is more complex than a simple “yes” or “no”.

Let’s dive into it 🧵

https://curia.europa.eu/site/upload/docs/application/pdf/2026-06/cp260087en.pdf

2/5 As a rule, online services are regulated in the country where they are established.

🧑🏾‍⚖️ The Court confirms that Member States can depart from this principle to protect minors, but only under strict conditions: the measure must be necessary , targeted at specific harmful services, and proportionate.

Importantly, the country where the service is based must have failed to take adequate action itself.

3/5 Our concern remains that once #AgeVerification is treated as the “appropriate” tool in this context, it risks becoming the default answer elsewhere too.

🇫🇷 is also pushing for an age-gated access social media.

Today’s verdict serves as a signal to any Member State seeking to go down that route: they will have to prove these strict conditions are met. It might be harder for social media platforms: the #DSA provides a different, more proportionate, framework to make online spaces safer.

4/5 🧑🏾‍⚖️ The Court confirms that labeling a measure as “criminal law” does not automatically remove it from the EU framework.

➡️ In other words, EU Member States cannot sidestep European safeguards simply by changing the legal packaging. This would have undermined the legal certainty that underpins the EU digital rulebook.