VPN Registrations Increase by 1,000%, less than Hour After PornHub Blocked France From Accessing its Website.

Peak French stupidity, this isn't about protecting kids - it's about building surveillance infrastructure. Back in 2024, critics already called this the foundation for a "Great Firewall of France". Once you have the legal framework to block websites and force ISPs to implement monitoring, mission creep is inevitable.

The technical approach is laughably naive. They're essentially creating a centralized system that could easily become a database of citizen sexual preferences. Even with their "double anonymity," you're still creating digital fingerprints and metadata trails.

Most importantly, it won't work. Kids will just use VPNs - the same way adults are already doing. You're not protecting anyone; you're just pushing everyone toward circumvention tools while normalizing government control over what adults can access online.

It's perfectly French because it combines maximum bureaucratic complexity with zero practical benefit, all while creating new opportunities for state overreach. Classic.

Dr. Cox was right: “I’m fairly sure if they took porn off the internet, there’d only be one website left, and it’d be called ‘Bring Back the Porn.'”

I have to admit, of all the nations on earth, I never expected this sort of puritanical theatrical authoritarianism out of the french.

Blocking porn has got to be the most "why even bother" thing

I hate how VPN access is the scaffolding holding the building up making things look normal. You can visit all your normal web sites, you can bypass georestrictions, you can be a little less tracked than you might otherwise be. But what happens when they decide to do away with that scaffolding and we all find out they tore down the house behind it while we were enjoying "normalcy". Too much of making the web functional depends on vpns and adblocking. We shouldn't have to do this stuff and Chromes adblocking scandle should impact millions of users all around the world unilaterally removing adblocking from the web. I fear for the day we have a US only internet and a global internet, not just on paper, but in actual practice.

Don't people realize there are hundreds of free porn video sites besides Pornhub? With bigger selection too because the lesser known sites usually don't get half their content DMCAed.

Paying money for a VPN just to access ONE free porn site? Sigh. I really hate web 3.0

I remember when the French used to respond to this shit with fire instead

once again porn leads technology

I'm shocked that this many people feel the need to disobey a rule that is only there to help the children. Next step must be to ban VPNs altogether, and enforcing all Internet users to be identified with their real identity (/s obviously).

How about you just parent your children? But it's not about the children, that's just always the convenient excuse

There are other, much better sites, lol.

Out of the loop here, why did Pornhub leave France?

Why do people even go to pornhub... there are so many other options

this only means that americans dont know about proton vpn

I'm pretty satisfied as a subscriber. Slowly using proton mail for more and more important accounts. Constant usage of the VPN. Trying to use the calendar more but still haven't broken my Google Calendar habits. Proton Drive I use over google; I just need a Linux desktop application. Proton pass, still haven't given that a go. Comfortable with KeepassXC and managing the backups myself. Proton Docs, it's OK. Solid start. Hoping that notes partnership/acquisition eventually replaces Google Keep for me as a cloud notes application. I have pretty strong confidence now in the company regardless of the slow Linux developments

Why do the French even need Pornhub when their basic movies are very porn adjacent?

France underestimated the power of horny

wtf, france?

pornhub is so sanitized now, im guessing its mostly because of the OF videos. most of them are on sites that arnt affiliated with PH.

Dont stand between the French and porn apparently.

Or as they call it in France, Le Porn

I guess this bodes well for Proton becoming increasingly a Google One products replacement with more users potentially paying

Intrigued by the quarter a day oscillation in that graph... 🤔

And now they want to keep doing the job of the parents and forbid "social network" to kids 15 and under.

hows proton?

I mean for context with the TikTok comparison using a VPN didn't get you around the TikTok ban unless you also made an entirely new account.

I don't understand, why not just open another porn website?

More than TikTok's US ban doesn't mean much given TikTok blocked user accounts who originate from the US regardless of VPN location

Edited for clarity: given they TikTok blocked, users accounts

How about mullvad

Also, when in France, who needs porn when you have Eva Green?

Well they are the French

This is depressing.

If you at all think that people can be addicted to social media, you could draw a correlation from this to porn addiction.

I know a lot of you either don’t think porn can be addictive and/or don’t think it can have negative effects on society.

Ask yourselves why the logic works for social media but not porn.

EDIT: I’m gonna have to do an experiment and see if I get more downvotes for saying negative things about porn or positive things about Israel. Unfortunately I think it’d be pretty close.

le hon hon hon!!! je veux a l'vpn en plús!!!