For the leaders of Mindgeek, the implementation of age control will only be possible when lawmakers and the digital industry as a whole have agreed on the means to achieve it.
In France and other parts of the world, lawmakers are taking another step in the fight against minors’ access to pornography. Indeed, the simple verification of age by a simple click, without any guarantee and present on the vast majority of sites, is no longer enough for our decision-makers. It is therefore decided to force the media concerned to make efforts, at the risk of suffering sanctions and blockages. But, if this battle is more than welcome, they still have to find the right tool for this verification.
A still vague law
Among the giants of the porn industry is Mindgeek. Founded in Canada, the group largely dominates the sector, with sites like Pornhub, Brazzers or YouPorn. It is therefore not surprising to see it more than concerned by the legislation and court decisions that are gradually being put in place on its markets. Owned by the investment fund Ethical Capital Partners, it must adapt to these changes which promise to radically alter its habits and those of the millions of users who visit its platforms every day.
Solomon Friedman, the Canadian lawyer in charge of Mindgeek’s cases, gave his opinion on the matter to the newspaper The world. He was asked to comment on the ” stay of proceedings regarding the authorization of the blocking by the Arcom of Pornhub, to name only one of the platforms concerned. Indeed, the French audiovisual regulator considers that many sites do not take sufficient measures to prevent minors from accessing their content.
According to Solomon Friedman, ” What the court recognized was that there were still significant issues to be addressed. The Arcom has been given the power to request the blocking of pornographic sites that do not verify the age of their users, without the age verification solutions being specified in the law. »
Solutions that do not meet with consensus
If the French government has opted for the digital certificate solution to verify the age of visitors, part of the industry considers it inappropriate. For Friedman, this is an inefficient method that is not unanimous among users. ” We’ve experienced this in Louisiana, where people can use the state’s digital wallet [qui contient leur permis de conduire] to prove their majority “, he explains. ” We implemented this system and instantly saw our traffic drop by 80%. Indeed, he adds that “ no one wants to hand over a copy of their passport or take a selfie every time they go to an adult-only site “.
For the lawyer, such a solution raises important privacy issues. Although this argument is very incongruous given the current events around Mindgeek, it does emphasize the need to involve the entire digital sector in age verification issues. ” I am confident that governments will understand this, and that they need to work with the whole industry – not just the porn companies, but also the sale of cannabis where it is. is legal, alcohol or gambling says Friedman, who adds, “ The internet needs an age verification solution. This solution is not to photograph your passport each time you visit a site. »
While the industry and Arcom have not yet found a method that suits them and is effective, many pornographic media seek to block court orders to compel them to comply with legislation. In the meantime, Friedman hints at a possible solution, which may not please everyone either: we all have in our pockets a tool that is perfect for containing digital certificates, to which we already give our bank or health data: age verification must be done on the phone “.
Source : The world
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