Enter a credit card number to access porn sites? This is a track that the Government is seriously considering to ask users to prove their majority. And thus limit access to minors.
The government is fed up “take tweezers” as soon as we touch on the subject of pornography, which definitely raises more and more problems. As reported by AFP, the Secretary of State for Children, Charlotte Caubel, proposed on October 25, 2022 to the National Assembly to impose the registration of a blue card to access pornographic sites. The goal ? Use it as a “filter” to prevent minors from accessing the content of these platforms. “We are told that it would not be a perfect filter, but already, if we can protect 30 or 40% [des mineurs], let’s be pragmatic. My child, when he uses his credit card, I have an alert, I’ll see if it’s on YouPorn or on McDo”, she said. A solution that has the advantage of being relatively easy to implement while being minimally intrusive – but would it be effective for all that?
In any case, the Secretary of State for Children is determined to “get things done pretty seriously” because “It destroys our children from the inside. And it contributes to not breaking the chain of sexual violence that we continue to feed.” According to her, today there is an opposition between the freedom to go to adult sites and the trauma created for children. “There is a subject of values. We will have to bring them together and see the ones we defend”she added, specifying “lose patience” with this file. Remarks validated at the microphone of BFM by Laurence Rossignol, PS senator from Oise, who judges the content of pornographic films “toxic” and recalls that this industry is above all a business responsible for making as much money as possible – in particular via advertising – and that it generates 650 million clicks per month in France.
Adult content: a lip service warning
The five most popular porn sites in France – namely Pornhub, Tukif, Xhamster, Xnxx and Xvideos – explain perfectly on their homepage that they are pornographic and that access is prohibited for minors: “This website, reserved for an adult and informed public, complies with all the French regulations in force. It contains texts, photos and videos classified X which may offend the sensibilities of certain people”. But their will comes down to this meager announcement. It is indeed easy for a child, whatever his age, whether he is 10 years old, whether he is pre-teen or almost-adult teenager to click on the Enter button by certifying on his honor “to have taken knowledge of the pornographic nature of this site and to be of legal age according to the laws in force in my state or my country”. In short, a purely formal warning that in no way prevents you from seeing pornographic content. A report published by the Senate in September also revealed that 36% of boys have already been exposed to pornographic images before the age of 13, and that a third of boys under 15 go to a pornographic site.
As a result, these pornographic sites do not respect French legislation. As a reminder, thearticle 227-24 of the Penal Codeamended December 2021, prohibited “to manufacture, transport, distribute” pornographic content – including that involving animals – if it is likely to be seen by minors. The platforms are condemnable “if the access of a minor to the messages mentioned in the first paragraph results from a simple declaration by the latter indicating that he is at least eighteen years old.” A law on which associations such as Open (Observatory of parenthood and digital education), Unaf (National Union of Family Associations) and Cofrade (French Council of Associations for the Rights of the ‘child) to seize the Regulatory Authority for Audiovisual and Digital Communication – Arcomwhich replaces the CSA and the Hadopi since 1er January 2022.
But despite the formal notice of December 13 by Arcom, none of the five sites had reacted in any way whatsoever and no additional measures had been put in place to prevent minors from accessing their content. Invoking article 23 of the law of July 30, 2020, the Arcom had therefore passed on Tuesday March 8, 2022 at high speed by seizing the president of the Paris judicial court to order the main internet service providers (ISPs), i.e. Bouygues, Free, Orange and SFR in particular, to prevent access to Pornhub, Pornhub and Xhamster, Xnxx and Xvideos. Justice must decide and may decide that the sites of the publishers of the five sites are no longer accessible from French territory or by their addresses located on the territory. The companies MG Freesites Ltd (Cyprus) publisher of Pornhub, Fedrax Lda (Portugal) for Tukif, Hammy Media Ltd (Cyprus) for Xhamster, NKL Associates sro (Czech Republic) for Xnxx and WebGroup Czech Republic (Czech Republic) for Xvideos. If justice gives its green light then “Internet users who seek to consult these sites will then be automatically redirected to an information page explaining the reason for this blocking”, indicated the Arcom.
Pornographic sites: an easy block to circumvent
Well aware of the infinite possibilities offered by the Internet, Arcom had wanted to anticipate the creation of mirror sites, that is to say perfect twins of these pornographic sites and simply presented under another name. The Arcom therefore specified that, “where applicable, the President of Arcom may also refer the case to the President of the Paris Court of Justice if he finds that the blocked sites are made accessible from other addresses (“mirror sites”) and that they remain accessible to minors. In addition, he may ask the judge to order the delisting of sites by search engines and directories.
It was not the first time that the Arcom sought to block access to certain sites. This was the case in February 2022 when a court decision forced ISPs to block pirate sites and services broadcasting Champions League football matches. But nothing is ever really hidden on the web. Even if the sites are delisted and no longer appear in search engines (Google, Bing, Qwant and others), all it takes is a little research to find them. But teenagers lack neither imagination nor reflexes to achieve what they want.
Install a VPN, a server that allows the Internet user to virtually relocate from France, i.e. to make the ISP believe that he is in a foreign country with no regulations against X-rated sites , is one such method. But VPNs have a cost and teenagers don’t necessarily have a bank card to buy one… The other method consists of modifying the DNS of the computer. You just need to know a minimum of the settings of the computer parameters, whether it is a PC or a Mac, and the operation takes place in three minutes flat. There is no doubt that teenagers will be able to give each other the tip on WhatsApp loops or TikTok tutorials. Access to porn sites will therefore be a little more complicated, of course, but not impossible. However, parents can also act by activating or installing extremely strict parental controls on their children’s computers or via their Internet box.