Following Australia’s lead, France is about to ban social media use among children under 15 after France’s lawmakers passed legislation on Tuesday. The bill, supported by President Emmanuel Macron, is intended to protect young people against the dangers of spending too much time in front of the screen and the possible harms associated with social media.
France’s National Assembly passed the legislation in an overnight vote, 130 to 21, clear for it to go to the Senate for further consideration before becoming law. Macron hailed the vote on social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter) as a “major step” in safeguarding the mental and emotional state of young people in France.
The proposed law also addresses mobile phone use in high schools which mirrors growing concerns for the effects on development of children due to screen time and addictive algorithms.
Authorities anticipate that they will be able to enforce the rules from the new school year in September. Social media platforms will be asked to disable accounts for underage users by December 31.
France would then become the second country after Australia to put age-based restrictions on social media. The European Commission has backed France’s decision to carry out the ban, but emphasised that it should be fair based on overall EU regulations.
However, legislation has been criticised. Opponents have called it “digital paternalism.” They assert social media platforms should be held accountable for their ability to spread harmful content rather than outright restrictions on children.
Critics also warn that such bans may not solve the underlying problems associated with them and can also increase digital illiteracy in youth.
Despite these debates, what the President Emmanuel Macron seemed to focus on was the moral imperative behind the law and said, “The emotions of our children and teenagers are not for sale or to be manipulated”.
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