© Unsplash/Karsten Winegeart
134 votes for, 75 against, 1 abstention (and 366 deputies who did not take part in the vote) – it is in this context that the SREN law (Security and Regulation of Digital Space) was adopted on Friday April 12, 2024.
This law aims to improve security on the Internet, in particular by protecting minors, combating cyberharassment, and limiting, in its flagship measure, access to pornographic sites. But also by helping to better fight against scams, cyberharassment and hate speech.
Detractors of the Law, who are mainly found in ranks of France Insoumise and the Socialist Party but also the National Rally, believe that this text supposed to protect Internet users de facto contravenes fundamental freedoms, in particular the 1881 Law on freedom of the press, with the introduction of the offense of online contempt, punishable by a fixed tort fine of 300 euros.
The outlines of this fine, in reality quite vague, can apply to any online dissemination of “content which violates the dignity of a person or presents towards him in an insulting, degrading or humiliating manner, or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive situation against him. Enough to create a risk of arbitrariness. An appeal will be filed before the Constitutional Council, they have already announced.
In addition LFI also denounces the regulations on Jonum< /em>, these games of chance that this law allows and regulates, particularly in terms of winnings in cryptocurrencies. A “new drug” for the far left party, “with the sole aim of creating a new source of income for startups”.
As we explained in a previous article, the text has largely been emptied of its substance on this point. Quite simply because the designers of the project were visibly unaware of the existence of European treaties and the complexities that this could generate in establishing this type of measures. De facto, several texts and case law confirm that a European State cannot establish restrictive measures targeting businesses from another Member State.
The largest websites visited by the French, such as Pornhub, have a presence in Europe, and cannot therefore be covered by the obligation to verify the age of visitors. This requires a European law resulting from a negotiation of 27 and which would apply to all Member States. France preferred to go it alone, even though it was quite obvious that the measure would be contrary to the texts. The result is that only sites based in France like Jacquie and Michel and sites without a presence in Europe will see this obligation apply to them.
< p>Which ultimately does not represent a majority of French internet traffic on this type of content. De facto, because it was poorly calibrated, the measure was largely emptied of its substance. Which should, in turn, penalize French platforms in favor of sites operated from other European states. A measure will make it possible to penalize these sites “by order”. But it already seems to come up against European law – we will therefore have to see how things go in the coming months.
This is the other big problem that is very poorly addressed by the Law. De facto no precise device is really defined to verify the age – and it is Arcom which is now responsible for thinking about the minimum technical requirements to which age verification systems must comply. What the text describes as the new, unclear qualifier of “referential”.
The Arcom will have to move very quickly. The authority has two months to publish this famous standard, and the sites will have three months to comply with it. The sites would prefer that the question be managed directly by system components on Android and iOS. But for the moment nothing has been decided, and it is possible that the age verification will be done using a bank card, a QR Code to be purchased at the tobacconist or # 8217;other more exotic measures.
The text launches the famous “anti-scam filter” which is characterized by the display of a warning in the event of visiting a dangerous site. If the initiative is good, it must be emphasized that the text does not specify any technical arrangements in this area. This major part of the measure will subsequently be implemented by decree.
The SREN law introduces a new “penalty of banning social networks” for a period of six months or even a year in the event of a recurrence. The cases covered by the law are online hatred, cyberharassment, child pornography, pimping, sectarian aberrations, obstruction of abortion, threats against elected officials among other serious offenses such as calls for hatred or discrimination. .
This is the whole paradox of the SREN Law, with on the one hand the verification of age which seems to be overlooked the treaties which bind France, and on the other hand the transposition of the latest European Laws for the protection of Internet users. The list of measures is long, and will profoundly change the way sites operate in France as in the rest of Europe.
In addition, the text for example forces interoperability between the main cloud services – while allowing, in an exceptional manner for a period of three years, games with monetizable digital objects (Jonum) to develop, in particular to assess their potential and risks, including addictive and in terms of money laundering.
ARCOM now has the power to request the cessation of the broadcast of a foreign television channel sanctioned at European level. Which is already the case for Russian propaganda channels like Sputnik or RT France.
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