France: Introduced Bill Securing and Regulating the Digital Space including age verification requirement

On 10 May 2023, the Bill Securing and Regulating the Digital Space, including service access restrictions, was introduced in the Senate of France. The Bill aims to transpose obligations outlined in the European Digital Service Act (DSA) and the Digital Markets Act (DMA) to align national laws with these regulations. Under the Bill, platforms will be restricted from exposing minors to targeted advertisements. Targeting based on sensitive data such as gender, ethnic origin, political or religious beliefs, sexual orientation, and others will also be prohibited. Furthermore, the platforms would be required to implement effective age verification measures to prevent minors from being exposed to online pornography. Violations of these regulations may incur sanctions of up to 6% of global revenue, with repeated violations potentially leading to a ban from operating.