For several months, the government has been preparing a device to control the age of Internet users wishing to access pornography. If this project has targeted platforms specializing in this content from the start, the Minister for Digital Affairs confirmed on Wednesday February 15 that any site hosting porn would be concerned.
Pornographic sites will not be the only ones to have to verify the age of their users. While the French government is preparing to present a device to prevent those under 18 from accessing pornographic content, the Minister Delegate for the Digital Transition and Telecommunications ensures that even social networks should be concerned.
Interrogates in a video from the online media Kool Magpublished on Wednesday 15 February, Minister Jean-Noël Barrot affirms that “ as soon as there are pornographic images that are broadcast on a platform, whether it’s called Twitter, whether it’s called Pornhub […]age verification at 18 will apply“.
? Excluded @Koolmag_off
?PORN?
According to the minister @jnbarrotTwitter will be subject to the same age verification rules as Pornhub, Youporn etc…@BetterInternetF @open_asso @ThomasRohmer @CharlotteCaubel @jnbarrot @NikitaBellucciX @AdrienTaquet @TwitterFrance pic.twitter.com/WRKpZ3m8qU
— @KOOLmag (@Koolmag_off) February 15, 2023
Porn accessible on Twitter from 13 years old
Although French law prohibits exposing those under 18 to such content, the average age of first contact with porn is 11 in France, the daily recalls. The Parisian.
Since 2020, a new law authorizes the Arcom (Audiovisual and digital communication regulatory authority) to sue sites that do not check the age of their visitors. The government has therefore been developing for several months a system for verifying the majority of the Internet user as soon as he enters these platforms.
Beyond the sites explicitly identified as pornographic and named regularly by the minister, some like Twitter or Reddit have more conciliatory moderation rules on these issues, only blocking sex and nudity to unregistered users. However, as statedKool MagTwitter is a social network authorized from 13 years old.
Several questions remain unanswered
Jean-Noël Barrot’s answer is therefore unequivocal: any site that hosts pornography will be affected by this tool. But there are still many unanswered questions.
From when and on what scale will these sites be considered as hosts of pornography? Similarly, will pornographic content posted by a user on a forum force administrators to verify the identity of all visitors?
The other thorny issue also relates to respect for the privacy of Internet users who choose to verify their age. The CNIL (Commission nationale de l’informatique et des libertés) keeps a close watch to ensure that the sites visited will not have access to the identity of French Internet users, and Jean-Noël Barrot promises that this will be done anonymously . Response in March, date set by the Minister for a first test of the device.
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