The government wants to ban access to pornographic sites for minors.
For what ?
Because young people in France are on average 11 years old, despite the legislation in force which prohibits access to platforms for people under 18.
To stem this worrying phenomenon, the government announced on Monday that it wanted to ban, from September, access to these sites for minors.
"
This scandal, I intend to put an end to it
", announced the Minister in charge of Digital, Jean-Noël Barrot, to
Parisian
.
Check IDs
Among the solutions considered by France is the one adopted a month ago by Louisiana.
On January 1, 2023, the southern state of the United States passed a law that requires people wishing to access a pornographic site to present proof of their majority: a driver's license or any other identity document issued by the government.
Law No. 440 targets sites whose content is made up of at least 33.3% pornographic material.
The measure, supported by Republican elected Laurie Schlegel, also a therapist specializing in sex addiction, aims to protect children from the "
dangers of online pornography
".
The latter "
is extreme and graphic and only one click away from our children
," she warned on Twitter.
Several American state senates, such as that of Arkansas, Mississippi and Utah, are already in discussions to adopt the same strategy.
Read also“We have organized our tolerance to pornography”
How does this actually happen?
Since the beginning of the year, in Louisiana, the platforms have therefore used an external service provider responsible for verifying the validity of identity documents when a user connects from the southern state of the United States.
The MindGeek company, owner of Pornhub and YouPorn, works for example with the AllPassTrust site which plays the role of intermediary, reports
Numerama
.
If the sites do not respect this rule, they expose themselves to possible legal proceedings.
However, the measure has already shown a major weakness: by indicating, via a VPN, to be located elsewhere than in Louisiana, it is still possible for a user to access pornographic sites.
Control over personal data
Second thorny point: since the implementation of the system, American privacy organizations have deplored the possibility offered to platforms to have control over the personal data of Internet users.
The law however includes the formal obligation for the sites to delete the data immediately, just after connection.
"
The law explicitly mentions the obligation to delete [the information] for the verification tools and the websites that use it
," said Jason Kelley, associate director of digital strategy at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, in particular.
NPR
radio
.
In France, the National Commission for Computing and Liberties (CNIL) has also pointed out the possible risks and consequences of this device for privacy in a document listing precisely the main types of age verification systems: "
This system is (...) both unreliable and not very respectful of personal data, because it requires, in order to function, the collection and processing of official proof of identity
”.
She also added that the balance between the protection of minors and respect for privacy was difficult to find.
"Keep Privacy"
In France, the government therefore seems to favor another solution.
The result of joint work between Bercy, Cnil, Arcom and specialized companies, the latter would certify the majority without revealing the identity of the Internet user, reports
Le Parisien
.
“
A user of a pornographic site, when he wishes to access it, will have to certify his majority by clicking on this digital certificate,
explains the Minister
.
It will work a bit like the control requested by your bank when you make an online purchase, except that this certificate of majority will be anonymous
, ”explained the Minister in charge of Digital in
Le Parisien
.
For the "Voice of the Child" association, the expected measures are essential.
While welcoming the work carried out by the government, the president of the collective, Martine Brousse, worries: “
We obviously want to preserve privacy, but at what price?
".
“
We have to wonder about the limits of this anonymity when we know the damage caused by the violent images seen by children, sometimes very young
,” she adds.
Read also“Pornography has been completely trivialized among young people”
If uncertainty still hangs over the device that will be privileged, it seems that the question of anonymity is at the heart of the next announcements.
Thus, it is unlikely that the track requiring the presentation of an identity document will be retained.
“
Obviously, a device like that of Louisiana would be ideal, but all the other solutions are good to take
”, explains Martine Brousse again.
"
You have to say to yourself that, in any case, this is a first step, we must not forget that we are starting from a very long way
".
While underlining a paradox: “
We cannot fight against violence and harassment on one side and on the other side defend at all costs the anonymity and freedom concerning the viewing of pornographic videos
”.
