The little blue bird of the social network Twitter finds itself at the heart of an outcry.
This Monday, around sixty associations for the defense of children's rights seized Arcom (French public authority for the regulation of audiovisual and digital communication), the former CSA, to request referral to the famous social network.
In question: the pornographic, pedophile and zoophilic content detected on the platform and which is easily accessible to minors.
Contacted, Arcom confirms that it will “instruct” this referral.
If this is accepted, Twitter will have 15 days to propose a solution.
“The facts are there.
They are serious, shocking and punishable by law”, insists Thomas Rohmer, founder of the Open (Observatory of parenthood and digital education), which is based on article 227-24 of the Penal Code.
The latter prohibits the dissemination of pornographic content as long as it is “likely to be perceived by minors”.
“It is not a question of being censors but of Twitter being a more protective space”, abound spokespersons for Unaf (National Union of Family Associations) and Cofrade (French Council of Associations for the Rights of the child) which brings together more than 50 associations.
“Twitter is not known for its porn videos…”
The latter recall that in France, social networks are prohibited for children under 13 and that “from 13 to 15 years old, the child is supposed to register with parental authorization.
But in reality, it never happens like that.
Moreover, these associations note that this type of content is not particularly sought after on Twitter.
“As much as when you go to a porn video platform, you don't expect to see a cooking tutorial by Cyril Lignac, just as Twitter is not known for its porn videos…”, quips Thomas Rohmer.
Last July, these associations had tried to contact the social network to initiate a dialogue.
In an email, the public affairs department of Twitter France replied to them by referring them to Twitter International.
“An unsatisfactory response”, judge these associations.
"The question of children's access to pornographic content is one of this government's priorities", assures the Secretary of State for Children, Charlotte Caubel, who considers "that as a network social, Twitter has an additional responsibility in relation to the publishers of pornographic sites.
Will Twitter succeed in technologically blocking this content for young people aged 13 to 18?
That's the question,” she continues.
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At the end of 2021, Arcom had already given formal notice to the publishers Pornhub, Tukif, Xhamster, Xnxx and Xvidéos to "comply with the legal obligation" to block minors' access to their content.
The rest will be played at the Paris court, on September 6, before the civil emergencies center.
This year, the associations Osez le féminisme and Les Effronté-es filed a report with the public prosecutor of Paris, for pimping against several platforms relaying videos promoting prostitution.
On one of his videos, in particular, a young woman, who presents herself as a former prostitute, explains that she succeeded in financing her album thanks to pornographic content.
Lorraine Questiaux, the lawyer for the associations, says she has no news of the legal consequences.