Thread by @neilthurman

Our new @PolicyInternet study draws lessons from France on the regulation of Internet pornography. We show displacement effects, circumvention & legislative scope may limit the efficacy of French attempts to prevent <18s accessing online porn:

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/po…

1/12

France’s Article 23 puts it at the forefront of attempts by democratic states to restrict young people's access to legal online pornography. Unlike UK's #OnlineSafetyBill or @mivillej's @SenateCA bill, France's Article 23 has already been enacted.

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/po…

2/12

French media regulator @Arcom_fr has, initially, been using the law to target 8 dedicated pornographic websites. So, how much are French adolescents exposed to pornography on those sites? And how much on other sites & media platforms?

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/po…

3/12

With @IfopOpinion, we conducted a survey of French 15, 16 & 17-year-olds. Our survey shows 41% visit dedicated pornographic sites, on average monthly & often much more frequently. Social media & search also a source for 30%, although less frequently:
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/po…

4/12

However, French 15, 16 & 17-year-olds are just as likely to see pornography on dedicated porn sites NOT targeted by @Arcom_fr—31% have—as they are on the 8 sites being targeted by @Arcom_fr—again, 31% have.

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/po…

5/12

So, even if @Arcom_fr succeed in getting those 8 sites to implement #ageverification, or block them from French users, the % of French adolescents exposed to dedicated pornographic websites could only fall by a maximum of 25%, from 41% to 31%.

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/po…

6/12

And that assumes that #ageverification checks are watertight. Our survey found that 41% of 15, 16, & 17‐year‐olds in France knew about technologies (VPNs or the Tor Browser) that can be used to circumvent country‐specific age-verification controls.

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/po…

7/12

Furthermore, our findings show that if access to dedicated porn sites is restricted for French under 18s, their consumption of porn could be displaced to the range of other media platforms via which they are exposed to porn—eg social media sites.

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/po…

8/12

French regulator isn't using Article 23 against social media sites for the porn they allow <18s to see. Understandable because main sanction available is blocking & blocking social media sites to users in France is unlikely to get public support.

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/po…

9/12

In contrast to Article 23, the UK's #OnlineSafetyBill has tougher sanctions (eg fines of ≤£18 million), makes requirements on publishers more process-based & context-sensitive, & allows the regulator to take a risk-based prosecution strategy.

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/po…

10/12

In sum, we believe that media displacement effects; socio-technical circumvention; & the limited power, broad scope, & current narrow implementation of Article 23 mean that it's unlikely to reduce French <18s consumption of pornography a great deal.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/po…

11/12

Thanks to my talented co-authors, @AsmikNalmpatian & @unibw_m’s Fabian Obster, great editorial support from @dhutchman, @MillyStilinovic & @WileyHumanities & to the @IfopMediaNum @IfopOpinion team for their help.

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/po…

12/12