They seek to develop age verification technology so that minors cannot access online pornography PornHub | xhamster | xvideos | Spain | Technology

Spain's left-wing government announced this Tuesday that it is developing age-verification technology to prevent access by minors. Online pornAnd he will introduce a bill to address this problem.

The announcement comes at a time when sexual violence against minors is on the rise in Spain, including multiple forms of gang rape, worrying the government and experts, who warn of an increase in access to pornography by younger children.

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“Consuming pornography at such a young age has obvious and logical consequences and negative implications,” government spokesman Pilar Alegría told a press conference after the ministerial meeting.

He said it was “a matter of great concern to the society of this country, especially to families”.

The government commissioned Spain's National Data Protection Agency to develop an app that can be installed on mobile phones and other electronic devices and helps verify that the user is at least 18 years old.

A pilot version of the app has already been tested on major web browsers.

The final version should be ready by the first half of 2024, the spokesman added, without giving details on how the government plans to ensure its use.

Alegria said the initiative is “a pioneer in Europe”.

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Last year, France announced plans to introduce a digital certificate mechanism to prevent children from accessing pornographic websites.

More than half (53.8%) of Spanish children have had access to pornography before the age of 13, according to a study by the NGO Save the Children.

The president of the government, Socialist Pedro Sánchez, described the data on minors' porn consumption as “disastrous”.

“We are suffering from a real epidemic of minors who have access to pornographic content that affects their education and current and future behavior,” Sanchez said in an interview with El País newspaper published on Sunday.