1 of 1 Image of a computer screen — Photo: Sofia Mayer/g1 Image of a computer screen — Photo: Sofia Mayer/g1
A survey by the French Institute of Public Opinion (Ifop) revealed worrying data this week: one in two French women say they are subjected to sexual practices based on pornography against their will. The study comes as the country’s Chamber of Deputies is analyzing a digital security bill aimed at combating minors’ access to inappropriate content.
The exposure of minors to pornography is “a public health scandal,” said French digital minister JeanNoël Barrot. The statement is not an exaggeration: every month in France two million children, mainly boys, are exposed to pornographic content. By the age of 12, half of French boys had access to socalled “Xvideos”.
It is no surprise that the bill targets porn platforms and tasks the French audiovisual and digital communications regulator with ensuring that online pornographic content is not accessible to minors. To access platforms that make “XVideos” available, all you currently need to do is click on a button stating that the user is over 18 years old. An “irresponsible and cowardly” situation, says Barrot, who recalls that around 20% of access to sites like Pornhub comes from children.
The biggest challenge for French authorities is controlling the age of porn site users. However, consumers of X content are anonymous.
The bill’s rapporteur, centrist Paul Midy, advocates ending anonymity online, which he says gives internet users “a sense of immunity.” For this reason, the MP argues that proof of identity must be required to create profiles or accounts on the Internet, an idea that for many French parliamentarians represents a violation of individual freedoms.
Nevertheless, giants in the digital sector need to make their operations more transparent. The algorithms of companies like Google, Amazon and Apple often have to undergo independent audits. These companies must share the data they collect and also make the process of flagging content deemed “problematic” more accessible.
The text also presents measures to combat the spread of pedophile content on the Internet. Digital companies must be more reactive in detecting child pornography and remove content from the air within 24 hours at the risk of paying a fine of 250,000 euros.
Consequences of pornography for minors
Experts warn that early exposure to pornographic content can have serious consequences for the development and mental health of children and adolescents: trauma, anxiety attacks, sleep disorders and, in more serious cases, even depression. American neuroscientist Donald Hilton argues that pornography can even change children’s brains and define certain behaviors and preferences. According to him, access to pornographic content in children and adolescents also leads to a false image of sexuality that trivializes psychological, physical and sexual violence.
Research published by Ifop also shows that children and young people exposed to pornography abhor nonconsent. Among those surveyed, 34% of regular adult consumers of porn films admit that they did not always seek permission from their partners or sexual partners for certain practices.
French gynecologist and researcher Israel Nisand, one of France’s greatest experts on sexuality, goes one step further and classifies pornography as “an education in nonconsent.” In an interview with the newspaper Le Figaro, he points out that boys or young people who have access to porn content develop an extremely degrading image of women.
According to Nisand, girls create a completely distorted image of their bodies. “There is an increase in young people, even 16yearold girls, coming to us for advice about vulva surgery,” he says, recounting girls’ desire to have their genitals resemble those of porn actresses.
Videos reporting “illegal behavior.”
The text of the law also requires porn content platforms to be issued with a warning about “illegal behavior” in videos that simulate crimes or crimes. A report published at the end of September by the High Council for Equality between Women and Men concluded that 90% of pornographic content is characterized by physical, sexual or verbal violence, making it “criminally reprehensible”.
This independent body worked for a year and a half to combat violence against women working in the porn industry, where they are “stereotyped, dehumanized, raped and tortured.” The report also denounces the consequences of adult access to pornographic content, such as the spread of rape culture, violence against women, support for incest and pedophilia.
The High Council for Equality between Women and Men points out that dozens of figures in the French porn industry are under investigation for various crimes, including gang rape, pimping and torture. The report recalls that the Pornhub platform, one of the most visited in France, is also in the crosshairs of the judiciary in the United States and is being accused of sex trafficking and pedocrimes.