French lawmakers on Tuesday banned access to social media for children under 15. The bill became law after being supported by both French legislative chambers, the Senate and the National Assembly.
The French government has called it a major legislative step.
“France will become the first country in Europe to impose digital age limits to improve the online safety of our children,” Anne Le Henoff, France’s digital minister, said on Twitter.
The law would add France to a growing list of countries that have already imposed similar restrictions. The restrictions could remain in place until the start of the new school year in September.
What measures will the social media ban include?
Under the draft law, children below 15 years of age will not be allowed to open social media accounts from September 1. Additionally, the platform will have time to close existing accounts of children till January 1, 2027.
The bill would also ban the use of mobile phones in high schools and require social media platforms to introduce age verification measures, according to France’s privacy regulator.
An age verification solution could be the age verification app created by the European Commission, and already tested in some EU member states.
The app works like a third-party service, where users provide an official ID to the app, which in turn provides age verification to restricted sites or apps.
Banning social media is a legislative priority for President Macron
The draft law comes after France’s health watchdog warned of harmful effects for children from using platforms like TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat in a December report. Authorities counted decreased self-esteem and greater exposure to material involving self-harm, suicide and drug abuse as potential risks.
According to the health agency, one in two teens spend two to five hours per day on their smartphones, and 58% use their devices for social media.
Initiatives to regulate social media gained momentum as President Macron made it a key part of his domestic agenda in his final year as president.
“We left you in this jungle and it took away your attention,” Macron told teenagers at a high school in April about the absence of rules on social networks. “We need to slow down and help you become adults and above all citizens.”
The final vote on Tuesday comes after deliberations between French legislative chambers, which previously suggested different approaches to the social media ban. While the Senate preferred a narrow approach that would have created a blacklist banning only certain platforms, the National Assembly favored a broader approach that would have banned all social networks for children – the latter version was ultimately adopted in the draft law.
Can EU also ban social media?
Last December, Australia became the first country worldwide to ban social media for children under 16, and other countries such as Indonesia and Turkey have since joined in.
Although France would be the first EU country to ban social media, plans are underway – or under discussion – in other EU member states, such as Greece, Austria and Slovenia.
Furthermore, the entire group may soon move towards implementing social media rules for minors.
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen suggested that the EU’s executive body would propose appropriate legal measures after the summer.
Speaking during an online presentation to an EU-Commission expert panel on child protection, von der Leyen called for “age-appropriate restrictions” to be implemented in a “phased and gradual” manner.
Edited by: Jennifer Cimino Gonzalez
Don’t let algorithms hide news. If you trust our team for reliable reporting, please take a moment to select us as your preferred source on Google click here And press the “Star” or “Favorite” button, so you always see our verified news first.