Days pass and we still have no information about the famous device that the government must test to limit access to pornographic sites. The National Commission for Computing and Liberties (Cnil), at the heart of the deliberations, wants to be pragmatic. Its president, Marie-Laure Denis, answered the Figaro regarding this puzzle and, for her, several measures can be taken.
First, a control by verification of the bank card, which would validate the age of the holder. It would be a restrictive technical device which the sites in question want to escape, but difficult to circumvent. Another possibility mentioned, more unexpected: a control of the age of the visitor by facial analysis. In other words, using his webcam, the Internet user would show that he is of legal age before being granted access to the porn site, his features being analyzed by an artificial intelligence in order to estimate his age. .
However concerned about privacy, the CNIL would not be opposed to this verification technique, provided that all guarantees are taken as to the personal data used (here, the photo). On the other hand, it does not provide an answer concerning possible failures of the system, between false positives and false negatives, which could create dangers and discrimination.
“The Cnil is not opposed to the use of bank cards, with a zero euro transaction, or to age estimation solutions using the analysis of facial features, declares the institution. They are not perfect systems, but they can be used right now. Let’s not deprive ourselves of these short-term solutions.” And to confess: “These solutions will certainly struggle to tell a 17-year-old from a 19-year-old, but they can tell a 13-year-old from a 20-year-old.”
The boss of the Cnil clarified with our colleagues from the Figaro that a facial analysis system is not a recognition device, knowing that there can be no question of identifying the Internet user.