france-mulls-ban-on-social-media-for-under-15s

Children below the age of 15 should be entirely restricted from using social media, while those aged between 15 and 18 should face a night-time “digital curfew”, a French parliamentary committee said on Thursday.

 

The committee submitted its report after months of testimonies from families, social media executives and influencers.

 

French President Emmanuel Macron’s office has indicated that it wants to impose a widespread ban on children and young adolescents, following Australia’s announcement of a similar measure last year.

 

The committee was established in March, initially to examine TikTok and its negative influence on children’s behaviour in 2024. Several parents had filed a lawsuit against the social media giant, accusing it of influencing behaviour among young children and adolescents.

 

French authorities alleged that the platform was glorifying suicide and luring children towards self-destructive behaviour.

 

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This is not the first time TikTok has been embroiled in controversy across Europe and the wider Western world. Previously, former US President Donald Trump also threatened to impose a blanket ban on the Chinese-owned company over its role in exposing Israeli war crimes in Gaza, which sparked widespread demonstrations across the country.

 

Meanwhile, French leaders, including the report’s lead author Laure Miller, said TikTok’s addictive design and algorithm “have been copied by other social media platforms”. TikTok responded by stating that the safety of its young users remained its “top priority”.

 

Géraldine, the mother of an 18-year-old woman who took her own life, said she discovered numerous videos on her daughter’s phone that glorified self-harm.

 

“TikTok didn’t kill our little girl, because she wasn’t well in any case,” said Géraldine, 52, who asked not to be identified by her surname. However, she added that the platform failed in its moderation, deepening her daughter’s harmful impulses.

 

The committee’s report suggested that the ban on children under 15 using social media could be extended to everyone under 18 if, within the next three years, platforms fail to comply with European laws.

 

Its recommendation for a “digital curfew” for users aged 15 to 18 would make social media unavailable to them between 10 pm and 8 am.