Protecting persons under 18 from online pornography

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    Set up under the aegis of Adrien Taquet, Secretary of State for Child Protection, and Cédric O, Secretary of State for the Digital Economy, the protocol of commitments for the prevention of exposure of person under 18s to pornographic content summons the signatory players (Internet service providers, mobile operators, search engines, content publishers, terminal and operating system manufacturers, associations committed to child protection) to mobilize around :

    • deploying and promoting parental control tools, in particular by setting up a common information portal on parental control schemes;
    • measuring the use of these schemes through the development of relevant indicators assessing the level of use of these systems.

    Arcep and Arcom, both committed to protecting person under 18s from Internet pornography, hold monthly meetings of the initiative's Monitoring Committee, which brings together all signatories to the commitment protocol.

    Fighting access by persons under 18 to online pornography

    As with television and radio, Arcom protects youngsters in the digital sphere from age-inappropriate content.

    Arcom is responsible for enforcing the ban on access by persons under 18 to pornographic sites, in accordance with articles 10 and 10-1 and 10-2 of the June 21, 2004 law on confidence in the digital economy, created by the May 21, 2024 law aimed at securing and regulating the digital space.

    In the event of non-compliance with this obligation, the service showing pornographic content may be served formal notice by Arcom, and after a strengthening legal sanctions, may be subject to financial penalties, administrative blocking and/or delisting from search engines.

    2,3 M

    Every month, 2.3 million person under 18s visit pornographic sites, a figure that has grown rapidly in recent years.

    The aim of the Arcom study is to provide child protection professionals and Arcom with a clearer picture of the number of sites offering pornographic content, and in particular of the number of sites visited by person under 18s.

    Use of adult websites by persons under 18

    Standard defining the minimum technical requirements for age verification schemes

    Public consultation of April 11, 2024, on the draft reference system determining the minimum technical requirements applicable to age verification schemes set up for access to online pornographic content.

    Referential of October 11, 2024, determining the minimum technical requirements applicable to age verification schemes set up for access to online pornographic content.

    Press releases

    International Working Group: Joint statement on age verification

    International Working Group Joint Statement on Age Verification

    Joint statement by Arcom, the French Superior Audiovisual Council(French Superior Audiovisual Council), the Cyprus Radiotelevision Authority(CRTA), the Direktorenkonferenz der Landesmedienanstalten (DLM) and the Office of communications (Ofcom).

    Joint statement

    "Je protège mon enfant", the information platform for parents

    The"Je protège mon enfant" information platform, launched on Tuesday February 9, 2021 to mark Safer Internet Day, is a website dedicated to protecting persons under 18 from online pornography. The creation of this website is part of the interministerial action "Preventing the exposure of minors to pornography" and follows the commitment of 32 players to fight agains the exposure of children to online pornographic content, materialized by the signature of a protocol of commitments.

    The protocol brings together a wide range of players: authorities, child protection associations, Internet service providers, mobile operators, search engines, content publishers and manufacturers of terminals and operating systems. Its implementation is overseen by a monitoring committee made up of all signatories and steered by Arcep and Arcom.

    The site, designed for parents, explains how to set up parental control tools and offers content and tools to free up discussion between parents and children.

    https://jeprotegemonenfant.gouv.fr/