PARIS — In a decisive move to protect children from accessing pornography and prevent radicalization, French authorities are seriously contemplating the imposition of restrictions on some of the world’s most popular social media platforms. French President Emmanuel Macron expressed a strong intention on Tuesday to enforce a ban on social media usage for individuals under the age of 15 in France “in the coming months” if no meaningful progress is made on EU-wide measures, following a tragic incident involving the murder of a teaching assistant in a high school earlier that day.
Potential designations and regulations
In an announcement from Digital Minister Clara Chappaz’s office, it was revealed that platforms such as Bluesky, Mastodon, and Reddit — which permit the sharing of adult content — may be classified as pornographic platforms. This classification would necessitate strict age verification measures under new French regulations that went into effect on Saturday. Chappaz’s office stated, “Our focus is age verification for any platform that distributes or enables the sharing of pornographic content.”
Failure to adhere to these regulations could result in significant penalties for these platforms, including fines, removal from search engine results, or even complete blockage. Chappaz disclosed last week that Elon Musk’s X was close to receiving such a designation, a claim later confirmed by her office.
Legal challenges and ongoing efforts
However, experts caution that the attempt to legally classify social media sites as pornographic may encounter challenges. As stipulated by the European Digital Services Act (DSA), the authority to regulate “Very Large Online Platforms” (VLOP) like X lies with the European Commission, rather than individual EU member states. The DSA grants VLOPs a degree of leeway concerning the management of systemic risks, including the exposure of minors to adult content.
“We are of course carefully monitoring X’s compliance with the DSA,” said Thomas Regnier, a spokesperson for the European Commission.
In light of the European Union’s slow progress on this issue, France has taken unilateral action. While compliance among certain pornographic websites has been observed, others, including xHamster, XVideos, and XNXX, have resisted these regulations and could face repercussions from France’s communications regulator, Arcom.
One notable player in the adult content industry, Aylo Freesites, recently opted to restrict access to its sites in France in protest against the new age verification measures, labeling the regulations as “dangerous” and “potentially privacy infringing.” At the same time, the European Commission is developing its own age verification solution, with France selected as one of five countries for initial trials. The Commission has also launched DSA investigations into major adult platforms, including Pornhub, regarding age verification compliance.
As the dialogue around social media regulation continues, it remains to be seen how these developments will unfold and what impact they will have on the broader landscape of digital content and child protection.
X, Reddit, and Bluesky have not responded to requests for comment on this issue. X asserts that users under 18 or those without a birth date on their profiles cannot access pornographic content, emphasizing that adult content creators should properly label explicit videos and that users can report inappropriate content. However, the platform’s verification processes allow users to falsify their birth dates, enabling younger individuals to access adult material.