VPN service subscriber numbers increased 1000% within 30 minutes of Pornhub's withdrawal from France, a figure that's even more impressive than TikTok's withdrawal from the US



On June 4, 2025, Aylo, which operates Pornhub, one of the world's largest adult video sites,

blocked access to Pornhub from France. Proton, a VPN service provider, reported that 'Proton VPN saw a 1000% increase in subscribers just 30 minutes after access to Pornhub was blocked from France.'

Aylo's latest corporate news and media resources
https://www.aylo.com/newsroom/aylo-suspends-access-to-pornhub-in-france/

After Pornhub left France, this VPN saw a 1,000% surge in minutes | Mashable
https://mashable.com/article/proton-vpn-pornhub-france

Aylo decided to block access to Pornhub from France, the second largest market for Pornhub in the world after the United States. This is because France will introduce a law requiring age verification from June 7, 2025. The law aims to protect minors from inappropriate online content, and websites distributing pornographic content will be required to verify the age of French users by credit card or government-issued ID.

However, Aylo criticized, 'The government could simply impose device-level restrictions on Apple, Google and Microsoft, but instead of protecting children, it has focused on completely pointless regulatory measures that put the data of millions of French citizens at risk of privacy violations and hacking.'

Aylo also announced that it would block access from France, saying, 'We have made the difficult decision to suspend access to user-uploaded content platforms such as Pornhub, YouPorn and Redtube in France and instead use our platform to speak directly to the French people.'



Then, on June 5, 2025, Proton VPN's official X (formerly Twitter) account reported, 'At 5 p.m., Pornhub blocked access from France. At 5:30 p.m., ProtonVPN's subscriber numbers increased by 1,000%. This is more than when TikTok blocked Americans.'



'We know people will not stop looking for porn. They will simply move to a myriad of unsafe platforms that not only do not comply with the law, but also have little to no trust and safety policies in place. In fact, all the data shows that these laws are only driving traffic to dangerous websites that knowingly choose to engage in illegal activities. The way France has chosen to enforce age verification is ineffective, ad hoc and dangerous,' Aylo warned.

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in Web Service, Posted by log1i_yk