In order to make pornographic websites follow certain rules regarding the age of visitors, French Digital Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said that the country will unveil a digital-certification system this week. As per the new system, such websites will need to manage the age of visitors to their sites starting in September.
Visitors to these websites must download and install a government-licensed digital certification app on their phones. This process will verify that they are at least 18 years old. Websites that do not comply might have their French publishing rights suspended.
Speaking on the matter with French daily Le Parisien in an interview, Barrot said, “I intend to put an end to this scandal … In 2023, it is the end of access to pornography websites for our children.”
A 2018 OpinionWay, a French research company, survey found that by the age of 12 one in three children and 62% children by the age of 15 have been exposed to pornography. The survey was published on the French government’s “I protect my child against pornography” site.
Under the current laws in many European nations including France, people who visit pornographic websites must be at least 18 years of age. But, in the absence of a proper and effective management system, users can easily insert a fictitious birth date on their screens.
According to Barrot, France will be the first nation in the world to implement such measures.
