Parental control now offered as a standard feature on new devices: How does it work?

Introduction of Mandatory Parental Control on Electronic Devices in France

The new law, enforced by deputy Bruno Studer and effective from July 13, 2023, requires all electronic devices sold in France to include a pre-installed parental control feature. Prior to this law, manufacturers were not obligated to provide such a feature, though many offered it or third-party apps were available for download.

Encouraging Parental Control Usage

The main objective of the law is to promote the usage of parental control tools to protect children from exposure to inappropriate content such as pornography, hate speech, violence, and criminal activities. The law aims to simplify and make it more user-friendly for parents to utilize such control features on various electronic devices.

Scope of the Control Measures

The parental control features, as outlined in the decree, must at least block the download of specific applications deemed unsuitable for minors and restrict access to certain pre-installed software of a similar nature. The law references specific types of content, including pornography, violence, crime, substance abuse, and discriminatory or hateful material.

Industry Opposition and Concerns

However, industry groups, such as the Syndicat des éditeurs de logiciels de loisir (SELL) and Alliance française des industries du numérique (Afnum), have challenged the decree in court. They argue that the data processing restrictions imposed by the decree, requiring data of minors to be processed locally on the device without passing through remote servers, are too stringent and may hinder the effectiveness of existing parental control mechanisms.

ANFR’s Reassurance and Flexible Approach

The Agence nationale des fréquences (ANFR), responsible for enforcing compliance with the new law, emphasizes a balanced approach. They aim to review each device individually to determine if data processing on remote servers is necessary or if local processing suffices. The goal is not to disrupt the market by banning non-compliant devices but to promote increased adoption of parental control features.