To access pornographic sites, you will soon have to present a bank card

To prevent minors from accessing pornographic sites, the Audiovisual and Digital Communication Regulatory Authority (Arcom) wants to temporarily make identification by bank card compulsory, before imposing stronger authentication in a second step, -she revealed Thursday.

Arcom presented its draft framework determining the technical requirements that these sites will have to put in place to block their access to minors, that is to say a concrete solution for age verification beyond a simple click . The body wishes to impose two-factor identification on each consultation of one of these sites, upon presentation of an identity document, a bank card or via the use of age verification systems by analysis facial features. She also insists on the protection of personal data: in particular, she wants age verification services to be independent of the sites concerned and to respect data confidentiality.

In addition, Arcom requires that the services concerned use a so-called “double anonymity” system, making it possible to transmit proof of majority without disclosing the identity of the Internet user. But the targeted sites “will remain free to choose the solutions of their choice” as long as “they respect the technical requirements of the repository”.

To give sites time to comply, Arcom intends to temporarily authorize, for six months, that they are accessible upon presentation of a bank card, provided that it is possible to verify that the card exists and is valid, that it has a strong authentication system and that this verification can be carried out by an independent third party.

Subject to public consultation, the project will be able to receive contributions from various players in the sector until May 13 and will only come into force after the promulgation of the law to “secure” the internet (SREN), definitively adopted on Wednesday. This law gives Arcom the power to order, without the assistance of a judge, the blocking by telecom operators and the delisting of pornographic sites that do not prevent minors from accessing their content.

In the case of a site hosted in a country of the European Union, an appeal must be made to the local authorities. If they do not react, “Arcom will be able to impose sanctions, as for platforms in France and internationally,” MP Paul Midy (Renaissance), rapporteur of the text, assured AFP. According to Arcom, 2.3 million minors visit pornographic sites in France. From the age of 12, more than half of boys using the Internet visit these sites on average every month.