After Pornhub left France, this VPN saw a 1,000% surge in signups in 30 minutes
10 months ago
- #VPN
- #age-verification
- #online-privacy
- Proton VPN saw a 1,000% increase in registrations 30 minutes after Pornhub blocked access in France due to new age-verification laws.
- A Proton spokesperson noted the VPN was originally built to combat censorship, not as a gateway for adult content, but acknowledged its use for bypassing geo-blocks.
- Age-verification laws require sites to verify users via facial recognition or government ID, raising privacy and free speech concerns among experts.
- VPNs encrypt internet traffic and spoof locations, making enforcement of such laws difficult.
- Proton advocates for device-level content controls instead of age verification that collects IDs from adults.