- An amendment voted in the Senate souhtaite reinforce the protection of the minors vis-a-vis the pornography on Internet.
- The text wants to impose greater age controls on publishers of pornographic sites.
- But a similar project voted in the UK in 2017 had finally been abandoned due to application difficulties and data risks.
Will it soon be necessary to prove that you are over 18 to access a porn site in France? Senators voted, on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday, an amendment to the bill on domestic violence to strengthen the protection of minors regarding exposure to pornography. The text, which has received government support, aims to impose a much more restrictive age control on publishers of pornographic sites, under penalty of sanction. However, the application of this law and the procedures for controlling the age of Internet users raise many questions.
What are we talking about ?
Today, to access any free porn site, all you have to do is confirm that you are 18 or over with a single click.
An amendment tabled by Senator LR Marie Mercier wishes to strengthen access control to these X sites in order to protect minors. “The dissemination of pornographic content to minors is already prohibited by law *. But in fact, we know that many young people have already seen a porn film as soon as they entered college, it's scary, ”says the elected representative of Saône-et-Loire. “In reality, many sites have given up on implementing real control, because this generates audience. "
What does the text offer?
The Senate amendment seeks to impose more restrictive age controls on publishers of pornographic sites. "Solutions already exist," says Marie Mercier. “There are systems using bank card fingerprints or France Connect [a digital identity device managed by the State and in particular making it possible to pay taxes]. These ID solutions work for online gambling sites, so why not use them for porn? Asks the senator.
In the event of refusal, the amendment proposes "to institute a new procedure" allowing the president of the Superior council of audio-visual (CSA) to address "an injunction to be brought into conformity with the law". Marie Mercier specifies: "These platforms will have 15 days to do so, otherwise the CSA will turn to the judicial tribunal, which will be able to close access to these sites in France through Internet access providers".
Threats to liberties?
If the bill does not impose any control technique on platforms, the solutions mentioned by the amendment pose several problems. The bank footprint would not strengthen control over all minors since a young person can have their own credit card from 16 years old.
"The use of France Connect is problematic because the State will have the information that you have connected to this or that site and may thus have information - for example your sexual orientation, which is contrary to article 9 of the RGPD ”, indicates Olivier Blazy, lecturer in computer science at the University of Limoge. “This history collected by France Connect, which cannot be deleted, could also serve as a means of pressure on ill-intentioned people, in a couple for example, or in the event of data theft. "
Furthermore, will internet users be ready to deliver personal data and use the same tool to pay their taxes and watch porn? "These proposals go against the recommendations of the Cnil, which considers that on the contrary it is necessary to have several digital identities online, one for administrative services, one for leisure", adds the specialist. However, the latter specifies that the use of a simple VPN, which allows browsing in a private and secure manner, could make it possible to circumvent these controls.
And now ?
Senators must now find an agreement with deputies in joint joint committee. But the final adoption of the amendment seems likely, since it has received the favorable opinion of the government. In addition, this proposal meets the requests of Emmanuel Macron. In November 2019, the President of the Republic called for "generalizing effective age verification devices on pornographic sites", threatening to "block sites that do not [respect] them".
Even voted, will it be possible to force porn giants, installed outside of French territory, to apply these measures? In the UK, a similar law was passed in 2017. But after two years of controversy and concern over the privacy of users, the British government had finally given up.
* Justice provides for a sentence of three years imprisonment and a 75,000 euro fine.
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