France's new age verification standard: Tightening controls on access to explicit image sites

On 11 Oct. 2024, France's Audiovisual and Digital Communication Regulatory Authority, the Autorité de régulation de la communication audiovisuelle et numérique, published the final version of its standard for age verification systems to access pornographic sites. By enforcing rigorous age verification processes, including "double anonymity" solutions, it sets a new benchmark in this domain.

The standard requires services or sites broadcasting pornographic content to comply with strict technical requirements relating to the reliability of age checks and the protection of users' privacy.

Primarily designed to protect minors from accessing pornographic content, the standard may also serve as a model for other industries requiring age verification. It is imperative for all stakeholders involved in implementing age verification to understand the requirements outlined in the standard and their potential impact on age verification processes within their platforms.

Context

This standard is part of a long legislative saga that began in 2020. Since 1 March 1994, Article 227-24 of the French Criminal Code has prohibited exposing minors to pornographic content, but it was not until 2020 the article specified that a simple declaration of age is not sufficient to prove an individual is not a minor.

In July of the same year, Law No. 2020-936, aimed at protecting victims of domestic violence, introduced a special procedure enabling Arcom to give notice to editors of pornographic sites to comply with the law, and to ask courts to order noncompliant sites be blocked.

A decree was published under powers granted by Article 23 of Law No. 2020-936, concerning the implementation of measures to protect minors from accessing sites broadcasting adult content. France's data protection authority, the Commission nationale de l'informatique et des libertés, issued an opinion on the decree, recommending the use of trusted third parties.