Pornographic web sites and legal age, what are the realities ?
Pornographic web sites and legal age
Pornography is a veritable curse. Both in terms of its widespread usage and in its harmful effects. People exploited by a sordid and colossal market, psychological impact on consumers, in particular on the youngest, addiction phenomena, degraded image of women and sexuality, increased violence, deterioration of human relations … The impacts are numerous. They affect society as a whole. Pornography is an industry which has made “The exploitation and merchandising of the body and sexuality of women a real business on a worldwide scale”.
An information report co-signed by 4 women senators from different parties published in September 2022 under the alarming title “l’enfer du décor (the hell of the landscape)” highlighted the hold of the pornographic industry and its harmful impacts. There is an urgent need to combat such a scourge. It would involve both prohibitions and preventive measures. One of the priority stakes is the protection of minors. The figures are alarming. Arcom (authority for the regulation of communication) published a study in 2023 on the consumption of pornography by minors: 51% of 12-year-old and 65% of 16-year-old boys access a pornographic web site every month.
In order to restrict access to such content by minors, attempts at regulation are emerging. A change was introduced on 11th January 2025. Since that date, rules issued by Arcom came into effect. Web sites must now check that their users are indeed of legal majority age, through an authentication system. A working group has just been established in order to monitor the compliance of pornographic web sites with the regulations. Web sites which do not comply could be threatened with being jammed.
How is age checked?
The report recommends controlling the age checking of users whilst protecting their privacy. This does not therefore concern their identity nor legal documents. The system adopted operates on a principle of “double anonymity”. On the one hand, users share “something” which may certify their majority to a “third party”, which third party may be an application or a dedicated web site for this type of check, and, on the other hand, the platform of content for adults only receives, via that third party, the information concerning the surfer’s age. Since publication of the reference document last October, many start-ups (around ten in France alone) have developed solutions to meet the requirement for double anonymity. It is a new market opening up.
What is the impact of this check ?
This measure is a first step. Expressing through regulations that such access is not available to minors acts as a reminder of the law. It is not a mere prohibition but is of expressive and symbolic value: the protection of minors. Access to pornography for minors is indeed prohibited. The penal code stipulates that the distribution of pornographic content to minors is punishable by a 3-year prison sentence and a 75,000 euro fine.
Abandoning the fight against such access would be tantamount, in fact, to authorising it. On that subject, like the consumption of drugs, access to social media for the very young, mobile telephones at school… the arguments for preserving the prohibition and for making it more effective are based on the impact on young people and their health both, mental and physical.
But questions subsist concerning the results which may be expected.
First of all, the check itself is not very demanding. In order to prove one’s age, a simple email account, a video selfie, or the proof of a single transaction on an application may be enough. According to Clara Chappaz, the minister for digital technology :
“The players (of this check), could be an artificial intelligence-based system which identifies facial features, or could be solutions which identify hand motions, there is a full range of solutions available on the marketplace. It is not up to us to tell the web sites which they can use”.
Another problem, the most frequently accessed web sites are not domiciled in France, they are therefore not concerned. Europe has not stipulated a requirement for this type of protection. The aim in France, as announced by the minister, is to encourage Europe to join forces. Clara Chappa has referred the question to Europe and has stated that within a few months, web sites based within the European Union will have to comply with this regulation.
Moreover, it is possible to bypass the system. As the check is only applicable to French surfers, one can simply make-believe that one is a non-French surfer to avoid it. This is made possible in particular by the use of a private virtual network (VPN) which makes the connection anonymous and masks the surfer’s location by changing the IP address. The surfer can then pretend to be in another state and bypass the French regulations.
It is quite possible that “part of the traffic will turn to VPN”, as predicted by Jacky Lamraoui, the head of the French start-up IdxLab, which provides an age-check solution for some twenty X sites. According to the DataReportal specialist site, 28 % of surfers between 16 and 64 years of age were using a VPN in 2022, a figure which has increased considerably in recent years.
Finally, the jamming procedures are complex, and may take several months. For example, in October the Paris Court of Appeals ordered the jamming of 4 X sites. 4 months later, they are still accessible.
Additionally, the minister for digital technology does not appear to wish to face up to the problem of pornography overall. During her interview, she insisted twice on the fact that the regulations “must not encroach on the rights of adults” and she underlined: “I wish to reassure adults who have a right to their freedom to consume such content…”.
According to Alliance VITA, pornography is contrary to human dignity and respect for the human body. It also fosters human trafficking and prostitution. The reinforcement, by all means possible, of the protection of minors must be a priority. But the subject deserves of a more ambitious and far-reaching plan of action.
Further reading
Pornography : un poison pour la dignité (a poison for human dignity) – Sophie Ascarino. Université de la vie 2021. Video available here
Pornography : the French Senate alerts on the hell of the landscape – Pornography and Prostitution – October 2022
