The Spanish government is proposing new age verification rules for accessing online pornography in the form of an app that would certify the user’s age without revealing their identity to the website.
Whereas conservatives should treat pornography as a moral issue, the ruling PSOE administration claims to have thought up a technical solution, in the form of a proposal that seems genuinely aimed at the common good,
The project has been developed by the Spanish Data Protection Agency (AEPD) and the National Currency and Stamp Factory. Government spokesperson Pilar Alegriá said on Tuesday that it has already been piloted, “tested with the main browsers and whose main objective is to protect minors from accessing adult content.”
Means of preventing youngsters from accessing adult—arguably immoral—content remain controversial in the internet age. While people are accustomed to identifying themselves to verify their age when purchasing tobacco or alcohol over the counter, the right to privacy becomes an issue when the same information is requested online.
At the heart of the issue is data security. Store clerks don’t keep a record of who buys beer—even if they briefly identify the purchaser—but online data is inevitably stored in databases. Internet users are well aware that once they share information digitally, they will potentially lose control of it. Security promises notwithstanding, it can be, and often is, hacked, sold, or surveilled.
A recent EU-level proposal to fight online pedophile content garnered opposition when it became clear that the directive would likely lead to the mass surveillance of citizens by their governments.
Concern about the social harms of pornography—particularly on the young—is widespread and typically crosses conventional left-right political lines. Questions on how to address the problem without infringing on individual rights remain tricky.
In this context, the Spanish proposal is particularly interesting.
Spain already has means of digital identification in place and having an optional digital identification card assists with completing official paperwork online. Now the government is proposing a digital identification certificate that would protect the person’s identity while verifying his or her age.
Currently, websites that provide age-restricted content, such as alcohol sales or pornography, must have users self-verify their age before continuing to navigate the site. Unsurprisingly, the rule has proven absolutely ineffective in keeping youngsters off websites that offer adult content.
As with regular digital identification, it would essentially function as an application that is downloaded onto a device to be deployed when needed. The anonymous certificate would certify that the user is over 18, but without sharing his identity or other data with the provider. Obtaining the certificate will require a national identification card, passport, or driver’s license. On devices other than a phone, such as computers or consoles, the same app will issue a QR code, which could be read by the device, to confirm that the user is authorized to access it.
All websites that host content included in the law will be required to have age verification mechanisms in place. Websites that do not comply will be investigated by the AEPD and face fines that can amount to between 2 and 3% of their annual revenue.
When explaining the system last month, the AEPD said that it could also be used to restrict access to social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, although the government has not said that it has such plans.
The government announced on Tuesday that the anonymous age verification system will be ready for a public launch “predictably before the summer,” and that it is preparing a “comprehensive law for minors on the Internet.” No further details were offered, except that the bill would have a multidisciplinary strategy spanning “the field of education, digital skills, and equality.”
Political Controversy
Also at stake is which party gets the credit for passing a regulation with wide public consensus and obvious social benefits.
Sources from the main opposition party, the Partido Popular (PP), told El Debate that it had included measures to counter Internet harms to youth in its electoral platform.
“If they copy us, that’s fine, but they should copy our entire proposal because the problem is much more complex. Minors must be protected from all dangerous content on the networks, not only pornography,” the leader of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, claimed publicly.
Likewise, PP sources emphasized that Sánchez’s party, the PSOE, refused to support a PP motion in the Senate just over three months ago that urged the government to protect minors in the digital environment by taking specific measures to guarantee their safety.
While the PP is willing to celebrate the PSOE’s proposal, the sources added that they hope the application they say they are developing “works better than the COVID Radar or the domestic tasks application of the Ministry of Equality.”
