In 2020, the French Parliament passed an amendmentthat put the country at the forefront of attempts bydemocratic states to restrict young people's access tolegal online pornography. This study examines thenecessity for and potential efficacy of the amendment,Article 23, through a comparative analysis of emerginglegislative and regulatory approaches in France, the UK,Canada, Utah, and Germany, and through a survey ofFrench 15‐,16‐, and 17‐year‐olds. Among other things,our survey shows that 41% of 15‐,16‐,and17‐year‐oldsin France visit dedicated pornographic sites, on averagemonthly and often much more frequently. However, therange of media platforms via which French adolescentsare exposed to pornography, their knowledge abouttechnologies that could circumvent age verification, andthe power, scope, and implementation of Article 23 maylimit the legislation's efficacy. Ourfindings suggest themechanisms that may limit its efficacy include mediadisplacement, socio‐technical circumvention, and theArticle's relatively broad and imprecise nature. Thisstudy has implications for legislators and regulators indemocratic countries beyond France as they too grapplewith the challenges of regulating online pornography.Furthermore, it extends the often contradictory and/orlimited evidence that exists about adolescents' con-sumption of pornography.    «

In 2020, the French Parliament passed an amendmentthat put the country at the forefront of attempts bydemocratic states to restrict young people's access tolegal online pornography. This study examines thenecessity for and potential efficacy of the amendment,Article 23, through a comparative analysis of emerginglegislative and regulatory approaches in France, the UK,Canada, Utah, and Germany, and through a survey ofFrench 15‐,16‐, and 17‐year‐olds. Among other things,our survey shows that 41% of...    »