Xavier Niel gives the middle finger to the French state and re-enables the websites banned by politicians (such as Pornhub) for Iliad/FreeMobile customers.
Here is the English version of the post with all markup preserved:
“Thanks to Xavier Niel, FreeMobile users (the equivalent of Italy’s ILIAD) are no longer blocked from accessing Pornhub and other sites banned by French politicians.
With this sarcastic message on X, the founder of Iliad himself, Xavier Niel, announced a free VPN for all subscribers of his mobile network:
« Par hasard » https://t.co/uCsMWmxRy8
— Xavier Niel (@Xavier75) September 16, 2025
How it works
The VPN activation lasts for 12 hours (but can be requested as many times as desired) and can be obtained—after logging in—by visiting this page:
https://mobile.free.fr/account/mes-options/mvpn
Why this is a good thing
Why are we so enthusiastic about this?
Not so much for the ability to access various XXX sites for a full 12 hours (something already possible with TOR integrated into Brave Browser), but because the system devised by bureaucrats (and promoted as a good thing by state media) represents an unacceptable invasion of privacy.
In the homeland of enlightenment, access to banned sites is only possible for those who prove they are over 18: for example, by taking a photo with their ID or through an AI-based plugin that estimates the user’s age by scanning their image in real-time via the selfie camera.
Protecting privacy
Age verification is thus delegated to third parties, to “service providers.”
But as history has shown countless times—starting with the famous Clipper Chip—so-called secure “backdoors” and systems that invade our privacy are always vulnerable to hacking.
Europe and… Bill Clinton
For those interested, it’s worth delving into the U.S. Clipper Chip saga, as there’s been talk for some time that Von der Leyen’s Europe wants to impose similar backdoors on big tech, with the usual excuse: “protecting children.”
For those with doubts, let’s recall who the U.S. president was who strongly pushed for the Clipper Chip, deeming it essential: the Democrat Bill Clinton.
Back to the origins
In closing, let’s remember that the immense “fortune” (wealth) of Iliad’s founder, Xavier Niel, began in the days of Minitel (France’s equivalent of Videotel): specifically through an erotic (and other) text messaging service that operated under the number “3615 Free”.”
