PARIS, France—The following statement has been released by veteran French adult studio Marc Dorcel:
The time of a wild Internet where everyone could get immediate and open access to porn seems to be over, as most of the Western countries are looking for concrete solutions to control it. UK is the first one to have voted a law regarding this subject, and will apply a total blockage on porn websites which do not age-verify and protect minors. Australian, Polish, and French authorities are also looking very closely into this issue and are interested in the system that will be put into place in the UK.
The British Board of Film Censorship (BBFC) is the organization which will define and manage the operation. In a few weeks, the BBFC will deliver the government its age-verification guidance in order to define and detail how age-verification should comply with this new law. BBFC wants to be pragmatic and is concerned about how end users and website owners will be able to enact this measure. The organization has therefore launched an open comment period in order to collect the public's and concerned professionals’ opinions regarding this matter.
As a matter of fact, an age-verification guideline involves a major challenge for the whole industry: The age-verification processor cannot be considered either as a gateway or a toll. Moreover, it cannot be an instrument to gather internet users’ data or hijack traffic.
Marc Dorcel has existed since 1979 and operates TV, mobile, press, and web networks; we are used to regulation authorities. According to our point of view the two main requirements to define an independent age-verification system that would not serve specific corporate interests are:
1st requirement: Neither an authenticated adult, nor his data should belong to any processor.
2nd requirement: Processor systems should freely be chosen because of their efficiency and not because of their dominant position.
We are also thinking that our industry should have two requests for the BBFC to insure a system which do not create dependency:
- Any age verification processor's scope should be limited to a verification task without a user registration system
As a consequence, Processors could not get benefits on any data user or traffic control, customers’ verified age would independently be stored by each website or website network and users would have to age verify for any new website or network.
- If the BBFC allows any age verification processor to control a visitor data base and to manage login and password, they should commit to share the +18 login/password with the other certified processors.
As a consequence, users would only have one age verification enrolment on their first visit of a website, users would be able to log in with the same login/password on any age verification system to prove their age, and verified adults would not belong to any processor to avoid any dependency.
In those cases, we believe that an age-verification solution will act like a MPSP (multiple payment service provider) which processes client payments but where customers do not belong to the payment processors, but to the website, and credit card numbers should be able to be used by any processor.
We believe that any adult company concerned about the future of our business should take part to this comment solicitation, whatever his point of view or worries are.
It is our responsibility to take our fate into our own hands!
