The National Assembly voted, Thursday, March 2, the bill intended to establish a numerical majority, fixed at 15 years, which this time should be respected.
A major step was taken at the Palais Bourbon after the adoption, by 82 votes for, 2 against and at first reading, of the bill brought by the Horizons deputy Laurent Marcangeli. Its aim is to ” establish a numerical majority and [de] fight online hate “. This law, which should allow verification of the age of the young user using a technical solution, must now be discussed and then voted on in the Senate. In theory, this step should not be an obstacle.
A numerical majority is already in place, but it is not respected
For several years, European legislation has required social networks (Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat and others) to set a “numerical majority” between 13 and 16 years old. This threshold, which evokes a so-called parental agreement, is obviously only symbolic and is not really (if at all) respected. MEPs recall that in 2021, ” 63% of under-13s had an account on at least one social network “, a figure also largely underestimated.
And if this is a violation of the general conditions of use of social platforms, which state a possible registration that from the age of 13, there was no way to really verify the age of the person who is registered.
What is new with this bill is that the numerical majority voted, and therefore fixed at 15 years, will this time be the subject of a real verification. Below this threshold, social networks will have to collect proof of authorization from at least one parent.
Good faith is over: age verification will be done using a technical solution
This age verification will have to be carried out by means of a technical solution (a bit like the digital certificate which will soon be put in place at the entrance to pornographic sites). Its terms will be discussed and defined by the authorities (ARCOM will have to certify the solutions, after consultation with the CNIL), and then adopted by the Council of State. It will be necessary, as we said, to first pass the stage of the Senate.
Once the law is passed, if a platform is caught for failing to comply with the provisions of the law, it will face a fine of up to 1% of its global turnover. This sanction threshold was not decided at random, since it is that set by the European regulation on digital services of November 19, 2022.
Such regulation is becoming urgent. Indeed, the gap between what is done in reality, and the current limits and mechanisms is abysmal. According to the CNIL, the average age of a first registration on a social network is… 8 and a half years.
Source : National Assembly
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