VPN Usage Spikes in France as Pornhub Blocks Users Over Age Restrictions

The French Pornhub users rushed to Protonvpn this week after the adult site blocked access to France in protest due to new age checks on the Government, a company saidclaiming that the applications for the service increased 1000% in just 30 minutes.

Protonvpn is part of privacy tools developed by Proton AG, a company based in Switzerland, best known for its encrypted email service, Protonail.

Whito protonvpn reported 1000% of the rise in French applications this week, did not reveal the number of users he had in the country before the spikes, which made it difficult to interpret the character.

Still, Protonvpn is classified among the widely used VPN around the world.

According to App -Figures, in May 3 million times on Google Play, with an estimated 620,000 additional downloads via the Apple App Store.

By comparison, Nordvpn saw about 1.7 million downloads on both platforms, and Expressvpn was about 690,000.

Proton acknowledged an increase and expressed concern about the wider implications of mandatory age checks – and unintentional ways of virtual private networks, known as VPNSThey are used to bypass them.

“We built a proton vpn to help people in authoritarian countries bypass the internet censorship. The accessory for pornoles was obviously not what we had in mind,” said proton spokesman Decipher. “But VPN -can be used this way, and applications from France have temporarily increased for a factor of ten.”

Virtual private networks encryp with internet traffic and mask IP addresses, allowing users to review privately and approaches to content limited in the region.

Decision to block access to Pornhub was followed by a French law brought In May 2024, demanding from adult websites to check the users of users – a measure of the Pornhub home company, Aylo, criticized as in vain.

The company claimed that the rules that French nationals became more vulnerable to the theft of data and illegal content, until they protected the children, the feeling that Proton echoed.

“We believe that the approach of age check is not the best way to restrict access to children with illegal content,” the proton spokesman wrote. “There is not just a check of age only for children; it’s a check for all.”

Proton said that allowing porn pages at sea or other third parties to collect identity cards from adults creates a central warehouse of sensitive information, which carries serious risks of blackmailing and abuse of data.

Trying to approach Pornhub from France, the users welcomed the declaration of the company that filed the French government’s actions.

Instead of checking age at the website level, check at Aylo and proton level as a more effective solution.

“All it requires is that the Government implements the regulations on three companies – Apple, Google and Microsoft – three operating system manufacturers that require age check at the device level before adult content access,” said Aylo UAA statement.

Digital restrictions have repeatedly forced users to adopt alternative technologies.

In December 2020. Credit Credit Card -Business Companies – including MasterCard, Visa and Discover – payment in pornhub after a New York Times investigation The site reportedly hosted illegal content, including abuse of children and non -consensual videos.

Mastercard has permanently completed his relationship with the platform, while Visa suspended payments until further examination. In response to the reduction of his payment services, Pornhub started acceptance Crypto currency for its premium subscriber service.

A rush in VPN applications has been marked by another front in a current battle due to an anonymous approach to adult content.

MPs are increasingly turning to the laws of age to protect children from explicit material.

Other countries Adjustment These measures include the United Kingdom and Germany. In the United States, 19 countries in the Union, following Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana and Texas, have brought in recent years of age verification.

Edited Josh Quttner and Sebastian Sinclair