Between shielding children and protecting personal data
After several recent scandals that drew the public eye to look at industry malpractices – including the alleged sexual exploitation of performers – legislators have been focusing on regulating pornography more thoroughly. Minors’ exposure to pornographic content is one of the most pressing issues in the French society, with an overwhelming number of adults in the country favorable to harsher regulations and penalties for non-compliance.The number of users younger than 13 who accessed pornography online increased in the last decade. In 2023, one-third of respondents reported they were between 13 and 14 when they first gained access to online porn. Seven in 10 French users would support strengthening the powers of the Autorité de Régulation de la Communication Audiovisuelle et Numérique (ARCOM) to prohibit minors from having access to pornographic websites, as well as its authority to block websites that fail to control the age of their visitors. In February 2023, the Minister for Digital Transition proposed the double anonymity system. The process is based on a two-step age verification process, which can be shared with pornographic websites to confirm users’ age. As of April 2023, 74 percent of French online users were completely favorable to implementing the system.
Online content like no other
Porn websites where performers, production companies, or users can upload content register millions of visits every month. In November 2022, Pornhub recorded 470 million visits from users based in France, ranking as the third most popular website in the country, after Google and YouTube. Pornhub was the leading pornographic tube proprietor, with an estimated 14 million users from France in February 2023. As the platform’s marketing targets men and content-hosting strategy caters specifically to the male audience, 74 percent of Pornhub visitors were men, while 26 percent were women.Fueled by sexual abuse reports, human trafficking allegations, and labor malpractice, the French public debate has been active in considering several sides of the issue. As of 2023, one of the most important legal aspects of the debate focused on age restrictions, which has prompted French citizens to support more strict regulations for non-compliant platforms. It remains to be seen if these new regulations will protect minors while still enabling porn users to access content.
