Online pornography: the High Council for Equality calls for better protection of women

It is a call to do more. By document published Monday, June 5, the High Council for Equality (HCE) between women and men publishes new recommendations to address violence against women online, especially in the field of pornography. According to the HCE, "women and girls" are the "great forgotten of the bill" of the government presented in early May to "secure the internet". The stated goal is "to inspire amendments to the government and Parliament". The government's text will be examined in the Senate "in the coming days".

Specifically, the HCE asks that the competences of Pharos - a device that allows illegal content on the Internet to be reported to the police - "be extended to content depicting acts of torture and barbarism, inhuman and degrading treatment, and rape". Pharos can now block or delist child pornography and terrorist content on the Internet.

Extending Arcom's competences

The HCE also wants the competences of the Regulatory Authority for Audiovisual and Digital Communication (Arcom) to be extended. "Following reports made by Pharos that would have remained unanswered, Arcom can be seized in order to also control the compliance of blocking refusals and order Pharos to withdraw, block, or de-referencing," adds the HCE.

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Another recommendation, the HCE "wishes to ensure a right of effective removal of any content of a sexual nature by the person filmed or photographed, at any time, and without justification". Clearly, that pornographic images can be removed at the simple request of the person filmed. Finally, the HCE "proposes that any image, representation of a minor or a person whose physical appearance is that of a minor of a pornographic nature be prohibited, regardless of the age of the person filmed".

The High Council for Equality will publish, in September 2023, a report "on sexist and sexual violence in the pornography industry". We can no longer tolerate that in 2023, when women's rights are for the second time the great cause of the five-year term, the industry thrives on hatred and violence against women, "also launches the HCE.