Regulation

France: Decree No. 2022-1656 (November 2022)

A Decree to define effective age verification for pornographic websites and give the regulator, Arcom, more powers to block access to the sites and remove them from search results.

Home / Resources / Regulation / EU / Decree No. 2022-1656 (November 2022)

What is it?

The Decree was designed to translate the broad requirements of an earlier law (No. 2020-936) into actionable and enforceable regulations. It provided the necessary details, enforcement mechanisms, and guidance to ensure that the law could be effectively implemented.

Who does it affect?

It came into force on September 1, 2023, and the law applies not only to sites based in France but also to those based abroad which are viewed by French users.

The main penalty is that Internet Service Providers block non-compliant sites, so French users lose access.

Verifymy can provide highly effective and privacy-preserving age assurance which meets the latest regulatory requirements from Arcom.

About the author

Lina Ghazal

Lina is Head of Regulatory & Public Affairs at Verifymy, with over 10 years of experience working across media and tech, in both the public and private sectors — including at Ofcom, TF1, and Meta. Lina specialises in building impactful policy initiatives and partnerships, and has worked closely with regulators, industry leaders, and civil society across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the US to help shape the future of online safety.

Got a question?

How can we help?

Verifymy can assist services in excluding minors altogether and determining the age range of child users so their experience can be tailored appropriately to their age.

Age assurance methods

Verifymy’s age assurance solution for any online product, service or business, features the widest range of age verification and age estimation methods to ensure the highest pass rates possible with minimal business disruption.

Email address

An age estimation method that uses an email address to accurately determine user age while preserving privacy.

Facial age estimation

An age estimation method based on a person’s facial features captured in a short selfie video.

Government-issued ID

An age verification method that uses ID scanning to determine a user’s exact age.

Government-issued ID and face match

An age verification method that uses government-issued IDs to determine a user's age and employs face match technology to verify ID ownership.

Credit card

An age verification method using credit card authorisation to confirm age.

Name & address

An age verification method that uses customer order details to verify age during account creation or order processing.

Mobile phone number

An age verification method confirming the phone is in the possession of and authorised for use by a person aged 18+

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