The text regulating the digital space was approved by the National Assembly on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday. Better blocking of pornographic sites for minors and tougher sanctions for cyberstalkers are notably part of this bill.
The National Assembly largely adopted, on the night of Tuesday October 17 to Wednesday October 18, the bill for regulating the digital space. It should make it possible to create a digital identity, better protect against cyberharassment or even create an anti-scam filter. The text had already been validated last July by the Senate. A joint committee should now be held by the end of the year to agree on a common version.
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This bill provides for numerous provisions but some are clearly aimed at young people, in particular those concerning access to pornographic sites. Currently, the law prohibits minors from viewing pornographic content on the internet. However, in reality, this is not respected at all since most sites only ask if the user is over 18 years old: you just have to answer yes on the home page. The law will now give more power to Arcom, the regulatory authority, which will be able to block a pornographic site allowing minors to pass through. The screen will be black until the age is checked.
Another part of the law concerns cyberharassment. It is a phenomenon that also affects young people, but not only. With this bill, sanctions against cyberstalkers are strengthened. They now face up to three years in prison depending on the age of the victim. From now on, the judge will also be able to impose an additional sentence of suspension from social networks for six months or a year in the event of a repeat offense. This banishment sentence will also concern threats and intimidation against elected officials, obstruction of abortion and even sectarian excesses. Social networks that do not block suspended accounts will also face a fine of 75,000 euros.
Opening the “cloud” to competition
In this bill, there are also many other provisions on very different subjects. For example, there is the creation of an anti-scam filter. This means that you should receive an alert message if you connect to a malicious site or after receiving an SMS pretending to be a public service. The text also aims to better regulate the “cloud”, the storage of online data, to open this area to more competition because today, these services are essentially in the hands of Google, Amazon and Microsoft.
There is also talk of the generalization of a digital identity. This service already exists, via France Digital Identity, which secures the identity of people to connect, for example, to tax sites. The deputies want the State to set itself the objective of having 80% of French people have such an identity by 2027.