The Assembly is considering a default parental control on connected devices


Pornography, cyberbullying, violent content… To protect children on the internet, a bill, which will be discussed Tuesday and Wednesday in the National Assembly, wants to force manufacturers of connected devices to include free and easy parental control. ‘use. If the text is adopted, parents will be able to choose whether or not to activate this device installed by default, when the device is first put into service. Computers, smartphones, tablets, televisions, connected watches, video game consoles would be affected, but not the boxes of telecom operators and home automation.

Internet browsing that starts earlier and earlier

The “minimum functionalities” and “technical characteristics” of this parental control will be specified by decree: they could evolve according to technological advances. But it should be easy to handle. “Four out of five children aged 10 to 14 go online without their parents. Surfing the internet starts earlier and earlier: children are said to be online from the age of seven to play online or watch videos,” says the text, which has the support of the Secretary of State for Children Adrien Taquet.

“The exposure of minors to pornography is a concern of the President of the Republic and the government. These images for brains that are too young are a form of violence. This contributes to the trivialization of the sexual act and does not is not unrelated to the increase in child prostitution,” Adrien Taquet told AFP.

With kids logging on earlier and with pandemic-induced class closures spending a lot of time on screens, only half of parents say they have parental controls in place. “It is estimated that at the age of 12, a third of children have already been exposed to pornographic content”, indicates the text, which notes that children are also exposed to “hateful and violent content, even to the action of networks criminals, terrorists and pedophiles”.

Invite parents to start the dialogue

“Leaving a smartphone without parental controls in the hands of a child is like leaving a pornographic magazine lying around in the living room. It’s not difficult for the child to fall on it”, believes the MP originally of the text, Bruno Studer (REM), who was behind the law on child influencers. This tool for monitoring the child’s internet browsing is not a “miracle solution” according to this former teacher, but rather an invitation for parents to start a dialogue with the child so that he understands what can be harmful to him on screen.

“This tool is a step in the right direction, even if it cannot replace educational support. Existing parental controls are little used because they are real headaches,” Thomas Rohmer, founder of the Parenthood and Digital Education Observatory (Open). “As digital tools diversify and come into the hands of younger and younger children, care must be taken to ensure that the content seen is age-appropriate. The beheadings of Daesh in Iraq were among the most sought-after images by teenagers on the internet,” he notes.

No sale if the manufacturers refuse the device

The National Frequency Agency (ANFR) would be responsible for monitoring compliance by the manufacturer and distributor with these new regulations. The bill was adopted unanimously in committee, where it was extended to refurbished devices. The French Telecoms Federation (FFT), which brings together the operators, sees it as a “very good initiative”. “The major manufacturers already have parental control devices. The challenge is to extend it to all terminals, of all brands. If they do not do this, they will no longer be able to sell their devices on the French market”, says Michel Combot, general manager of the FFT.

But this French initiative could have an influence beyond the borders. “Manufacturers do not produce only for the French market but try to manufacture the same device for all markets. And more and more countries are concerned about the exposure of children to ultra-violent content and pornography”, estimates Congressman Studer.



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