PARIS – In France, platforms from Instagram to Pornhub may soon be able to check the age of their users.
For two and a half years, Paris and pornography websites have played cat-and-mouse game over age verification – now, the government and regulators are planning to end it forever. Lawmaker in the Culture Committee of the National Assembly voted on wednesday Extending such requirements to mainstream social media companies.
“In 2021, 63 percent of children under the age of 13 had an account on at least one social network… This is in violation of the general conditions of use of the respective main platforms, according to which registration is allowed from the age of 13 ” argued Laurent Marcangeli, a member of parliament from Horizons, an ally of President Emmanuel Macron, who put forward the bill adopted on Wednesday.
Age verification is one of the thorniest aspects of online child protection, which continues to vex policymakers and internet companies on both sides of the Atlantic. In December, Nick Clegg, Meta’s head of global affairs global standards called for,
France was one of the first countries deal with the matter With legislation in 2020 forcing the porn industry to block online access to minors. (Afterwards a failed bid United Kingdom in 2019 trying now too To bring back the age-verification requirements.)
French MPs on Wednesday adopted law Is required Social media platforms such as Instagram, TikTok and Snap to block access to minors under the age of 15 – unless they have authorization from their parents – or face fines of up to 1 per cent of their annual global turnover had to face Technical solutions to verify the age of users will need to be rubber-stamped by audiovisual and privacy regulators – Arcom and CNIL – and Arcom will have the right to sue non-compliant companies.
The bill is not yet complete and still needs to go through a full session and the Senate – but French Digital Minister Jean-Noël Barot repeatedly said Age verification for pornographic websites was meant to extend to mainstream social media platforms as well.
‘Double Oblivion’
The 2020 law proved difficult to enforce because of privacy, technical and legal hurdles – but the planets are now beginning to align against the pornography industry.
Adult websites, including French courts, have long argued that the text is technically unenforceable. Barot on Tuesday told MPs The system of “double anonymity” will be tested with some unnamed companies at the end of March.
Users prove their age to an as-yet undetermined trusted third party – such as a telecom operator or a digital identity service provider – who will generate a type token without the provider knowing the token’s purpose. That token could then be used anonymously on porn websites. That system, Barrott said, is the best way to solve the age-verification impasse for adult websites, but “in the future,” for other types of platforms as well.
A French official told Politico that CNIL and Arcom are also expected to issue long-awaited technical guidelines, which will “set the minimum standards” that porn websites will need to implement. Last week, Junior Minister for Children Charlotte Cobel told French TV that credit cards and facial recognition would do the trick.
A spokesperson for MindGeek, the parent company of Pornhub, Redtube and UPorn, said in a statement, “It is important that any age verification measures implemented preserve user privacy and be easy to use. should be implemented uniformly and effectively across all platforms.” Offering adult content.”
Paris makes online child protection a political priority in a country with so many minors Allegedly Visit porn sites for the first time on average at the age of 11. France last year was the first country Smartphone and tablet manufacturers are required to give parents the option of controlling their children’s internet access. MPs have also introduced bills in the last few weeks protect the children images online and to limit screen time,