It’s D-Day for X sites. The Paris court must decide on Friday whether five porn sites, including industry leaders Pornhub, XVideos or XHamster, will be blocked in France for failing to effectively prevent minors from accessing their content. .
The blocking request, which also targets Tukif and Xnxx sites, was initiated in 2021 by Arcom, the audiovisual and digital regulator. Since July 2020, the law specifies that companies cannot be exonerated from their responsibilities with a simple majority declaration.
But nothing happened as planned, between procedural failures by the administrative authority and delaying maneuvers carried out by the attacked sites, all under the impassive gaze of the telecommunications operators in charge of implementing a possible blockade.
If acted upon, French porn consumers of all ages will be directed to an Arcom information page. A measure that can be easily circumvented thanks to a virtual private network (VPN).
But for the government, the issue cannot be further delayed. “In 2023, it is the end of access to pornographic sites for our children”, declared in February the Delegate Minister of Digital Jean-Noël Barrot, to the Parisian.
In any case, the minister has his digital regulation bill, currently under study in the Senate, so that Arcom can dispense with the judge. The authority has given formal notice to three new sites, including YouPorn, and has initiated legal action against two other platforms.
The UK is also trying to better filter access to pornographic sites, with its online safety bill, which is being discussed in Parliament. In the United States, Louisiana and Utah have incorporated age verification for Internet users into law.
But plans to establish age verification for Internet users around the world have so far run up against the question of personal data protection.
A technical solution based on a trusted third party has been presented in France but is still in the testing phase. The Cnil, guardian of personal data, has ruled in favor of temporary solutions such as validation of age by means of a payment card or analysis of facial features.
Source: BFM TV
