Major Restriction Imposed on Children Under 15 in France

(Digital Itla) The French Parliament has set an age limit for social media access for children under 15 years old.

According to Reuters, French lawmakers on Tuesday approved a ban restricting social media access for children under 15. The measure comes amid growing global concern over the impact of social media on the health and safety of young children.

With this decision, France becomes the first country in Europe to follow Australia, where the world's first ban for individuals under 16 across platforms like Facebook, Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube was enacted last December.

Addressing senators, Junior Minister for AI Affairs Anne Le Hénanff stated: "France is paving the way by becoming the first European country to adopt a digital maturity law."

Both houses of parliament—the Senate and the National Assembly—approved the ban on Tuesday. The French government is also working on a mechanism for verifying users' ages.

President Emmanuel Macron, who urged youth in April to turn off their phones and read books to become better citizens, wants the law implemented before the start of the new academic year. Under the new law, children under 15 will not be able to open new social media accounts starting September 1. Social media platforms will be given an additional 4 months to close pre-existing accounts.

Platforms will also be required to use age-verification systems approved by France's privacy regulator. Social media companies generally oppose full bans, arguing they already have measures like age restrictions in place, but they have pledged to comply where governments enact such laws.

The European Commission is also working on rules to regulate social media across Europe to protect youth and will evaluate whether France's law aligns with existing EU legislation.

Speaking at an event in April, Macron told youth: "We left you in this jungle, and it took away your attention and focus." Referring to the lack of social media regulations, he added: "We need to slow down and help you grow up to become adults—and above all, good citizens. That is why we want to prohibit social media use before age 15."