French Regulator to Enforce Age Checks for Adult Content
Adult material accounts for a huge segment of online content, and adult sites regularly rank among the most visited in the world. However, many of these sites have age restriction processes that could be described as lax at best, which has resulted in increasing calls for regulators to impose effective age checks for adult content.
It would appear that the French regulator, Arcom, has responded to these calls. The organisation has confirmed that, from January of next year, adult sites will be required to implement age checks for all users. Let’s find out more.
What Has Led to this Decision?
In recent years, tech firms have come under increasing pressure to improve the protections they have in place for young people. Research continues to reveal that exposure to adult content and potentially harmful online material can have serious detrimental effects on young people.
Given that the vast majority of children and young people use the internet on a daily basis, there is a clear need for these users to be protected. While some have called for a blanket smartphone ban for under-16s, others maintain that introducing stringent age checks for adult content and inappropriate material would be an effective alternative.
The New Rules in Detail
Arcom made the announcement about the new rules last month and published details as to what adult site operators must do to ensure they are in line with the new regulations.
According to the regulator, age checks for adult content must prioritise privacy and anonymity. Age verification providers must be independent of adult site operators and ‘double blind’ checks must be available, which means user identities are hidden from sites and site information is hidden from the age verification provider.
In addition, Arcom outlined the need for age verification tools to be protected against hacking and safeguarded against the threats posed by new technologies such as AI and deepfakes.
What Does this Mean for Website Operators?
These new age checks for adult content will come into effect on 11 January 2025. However, there will be a three-month transitional period from this date, which will allow adult site operators to review their systems and processes and ensure they are adequately prepared for the changes.
After the transitional period has ended, site operators could be faced with punitive action if they are found to be in breach of the new rules. Previously, the French regulator found it difficult to enact sanctions against tech firms and website owners. However, the recent Digital Services Act means the regulator can now block sites and order ISPs to block platforms without requiring permission from the court.
For adult site operators, partnering with a suitable age verification provider, like AgeChecked, is critical. Protecting young users is becoming an increasingly salient topic in the digital space, and we’re likely to see similar rules regarding age checks for adult content rolled out in other countries.
Conclusion
The French regulator’s decision to implement age checks for adult content could be a landmark moment, and it could well lead to similar laws passed across Europe and beyond. For businesses that deal with age-restricted products, partnering with an age verification provider like AgeChecked should be a top priority.
