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SEX

Why French people may need to buy a ‘porn pass’ at the tabac to access online pornography

Following a ruling from the French broadcasting authority that online porn sites must do more to verify the age of their customers, users in France face a range of extra checks, including the possibility of having to go to the tabac to buy a 'porn pass'.

Published: 18 March 2021 15:58 CET
Why French people may need to buy a 'porn pass' at the tabac to access online pornography
The tabac is central to life in France. Photo: Loic Venance/AFP

The French broadcasting authority CSA has ruled that current age verification checks – which generally amount to little more than checking a box – are inadequate and has put eight porn sites on notice that they must do more or face being blocked in France.

The eight sites, which include international giant Pornhub and the French sites xvideos and Jacquie et Michel, now have two weeks to explain to the regulator the actions they intend to take, and users in France have reported warning notices about imminent closure on some sites’ homepages.

An anti-domestic violence law passed this summer includes a clause about “allowing minors to access sexual content” which allows the CSA to issue legal notices to any site which it considers has insufficient age verification processes.

The offender is liable to three years’ imprisonment and a fine of €75,000, which is multiplied by five for businesses – so sites face a maximum of €375,000 fines. The CSA can also apply for a court order to make a certain site inaccessible to users in France by blocking access from French IP addresses.

It is up to each site to come up with its own age verification process that will satisfy the regulator.

Pornhub has published a list of proposals, which include taking a selfie with age ID, showing a piece of ID to a webcam, making a micro-payment via a bank card or mobile phone or the in-person (and age verified) purchase of a ‘porn pass’ at the tabac which would give a code allowing access to the website.

In France the tabac, as well as selling tobacco, also provides a range of administrative services from paying bills to buying un timbre fiscale which allows you to make payments to the government for taxes or pay fines such as parking fines. 

READ ALSO Why the tabac is essential for life in France – even if you don’t smoke

You can also buy stamps or place a bet.

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CRIME

Thirteen in court over death threats to French teenager after her social media tirades against Islam

Thirteen people go on trial in Paris on Thursday on charges of online harassment and in some cases death threats against a teenage girl who posted social media tirades against Islam, which saw her placed under police protection and forced to change schools.

Published: 3 June 2021 13:00 CEST
Thirteen in court over death threats to French teenager after her social media tirades against Islam
Mila's lawyer Richard Malka has been involved in several high-profile freedom of expression trials, including the Charlie Hebdo trials. Photo: Martin Bureau/AFP

The  ‘Affaire Mila’ sparked outrage and renewed calls to uphold free-speech rights after the 16-year-old was subjected to a torrent of abuse on social media after her expletive-laden videos went viral last year.

“The Koran is filled with nothing but hate, Islam is a shitty religion,” Mila said in the first post on Instagram in January 2020.

READ ALSO What is the Affaire Mila and why is it causing outrage?

A second one in November, this time on TikTok, came after the jihadist killing of high school teacher Samuel Paty over his showing of controversial cartoons of the prophet Mohamed to students.

The reactions were swift and virulent.

“You deserve to have your throat cut,” read one, while another warned “I’m going to do you like Samuel Paty”.

Mila had to be placed under police protection along with her family in Villefontaine, a town outside Lyon in southeast France, and was forced to change schools.

Even President Emmanuel Macron came to her defence, saying that “the law is clear. We have the right to blaspheme, to criticise and to caricature religions.”

Investigators eventually identified thirteen people from several French regions aged 18 to 30, and charged them with online harassment, with some also accused of threatening death or other criminal acts.

“This is a trial against the digital terror that unleashes sexist, homophobic and intolerant mobs against a teenager,” Mila’s lawyer Richard Malka told AFP ahead of the trial, which opens on Thursday afternoon.

“This digital lynching must be punished,” he said.

But defence lawyers have argued that the 13 on trial are unfairly taking the rap as scapegoats for thousands of people taking advantage of the anonymity offered by social media platforms.

“My client is totally overwhelmed by this affair,” said Gerard Chemla, a lawyer for one of the accused. “He had a fairly stupid instant reaction, the type that happens every day on Twitter.”

The accused face up to two years in prison and fines of €30,000 for online harassment.

A conviction of death threats carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison – two people previously convicted of death threats against Mila have received prison terms.

Mila, now 18, is to publish a book this month recounting her experience, titled “I’m paying the price for your freedom.”

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