During the examination of the bill to "secure" the Internet, the French Assembly adopted an amendment last Thursday which entrusts Arcom (Regulatory Authority for Audiovisual and Digital Communications) with the task of checking that internet sites game, theoretically prohibited to minors, check the age of their users.
The amendment was passed without government support. The measure, according to the government, will weaken the current system of targeting pornographic sites. The minister responsible for digital technology, Jean-Noël Barrot, did not hide his disapproval in the Chamber. “I solemnly ask” the deputies and senators who will negotiate a common version of the text “to urgently eliminate from the article in question any reference to anything different from pornography." If the articles "are not impeccable, they will be opposed in every way before all courts by pornographic sites", insisted the minister. The majority of deputies also believe that the measure would slow down Arcom's ongoing work on pornographic sites. “My goal is to protect children,” also with regards to online games, said Perrine Goulet, the MoDem MP who proposed the amendment “It is not because they are French companies that should not respect the rules that protect minors. » Approved with 37 votes in favor and 30 against, the amendment therefore entrusts Arcom with the task of verifying the effectiveness of age control for users of gambling games and a new category of games, digital object games monetizable.
