With 2.3 million minors accessing pornographic sites every month, Acrom was granted powers in May 2024 to impose administrative sanctions and blocks on websites that do not meet child protection legislation. Arcom was also directed to adopt a reference framework that determines the minimum technical requirements for age verification systems that must be integrated into age-restricted websites.
After the legislation was passed through by Parliament, Acrom submitted a public technical framework for the protection of minors online, which was communicated with the European Commission and the National Commission for Information Technology and Civil Liberties (CNIL).
On Wednesday, October 09, 2024, the Arcom Board adopted the reference framework provided for by law. The services concerned will have to comply within three months. Its requirements relate both to the reliability of user age checks and to respect for their privacy. During the preparatory work, many age verification solution providers approached Arcom to present their solutions.
The new obligations for services, compliant with the SREN law and principles of GDPR, invite pornographic sites to implement protective solutions without delay however officially they have a transitional period of three months to legally fulfill these requirements.
The framework must be more comprehensive than just age verification.
The regulator recently responded to the European Commission’s call for consultation on the protection of minors online by suggesting prioritising implementation of the European Digital Services Act (DSR) on sites that allow minors to access pornographic content.
