French parliament backs social media ban for under-15s

France’s parliament moved on Tuesday toward approving a sweeping ban on social media access for children under 15, a step that would make the country the first in Europe to impose such a digital age limit on platforms including TikTok.

The bill won overwhelming backing in the Senate, which approved it by 243 votes to two. It was then expected to clear the National Assembly later in the day, barring an unexpected setback, according to the monitored public feed based on Dawn Home’s report.

President Emmanuel Macron has made the measure a central part of his final term agenda and has said he wants it enforced by September. French Digital Minister Anne Le Henanff said on X that France would become “the first country in Europe to introduce a digital age limit to better protect our children online.”

The law would be introduced in two stages. From September 1, children under 15 would be blocked from creating new accounts on social media platforms. Existing accounts would be affected from January 2027, according to the draft text described in the feed summary.

Le Henanff said the timetable was feasible because age-verification tools already exist, while others are being developed. She said the responsibility would fall on platforms to enforce the rule. “For four months, all of us in France will have to prove our age,” she told journalists, adding that if a user is found to be under 15, “the account will be closed.” She also said personal data would be protected.

The government’s push is part of a broader European debate over children’s exposure to social media and the pressure it may place on mental health. France’s public health watchdog said last year that platforms such as TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram were harmful to adolescents, especially girls, though it did not identify them as the only factor behind worsening mental health.

Lawmakers had agreed that regulation was needed, but the two chambers differed on the mechanism. Senators had backed a more targeted approach that would have distinguished between platforms considered especially harmful and those that could remain accessible with parental consent. The National Assembly’s broader ban prevailed, despite criticism from some left-wing lawmakers over age verification, implementation speed, privacy risks and the possibility of circumvention.

The bill includes exceptions for online encyclopedias and educational platforms. It also does not set penalties for children or parents. Lawmaker Laure Miller said the major platforms were, in her view, “largely ready.”

Centrist senator Catherine Morin-Desailly said the blacklist model would have taken longer to implement and carried a small risk of conflicting with European law because it would have required fresh talks with the European Commission. The EU is also examining possible restrictions, with France, Greece and Spain among the member states pushing for tighter limits on children’s access.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said last week that children should have “phased and gradual access” to social media. The European Commission has also launched an age-verification app that several member states, including France, have begun testing.

If the law takes effect on schedule, it would also bring into force another provision banning mobile phones in high schools at the start of the French school year.

France would join a growing group of countries tightening rules on social media use by minors. Australia became the first country in the world in December last year to require major platforms including TikTok, YouTube and Snapchat to remove accounts held by under-16s or face heavy fines.

Source: Dawn Home - https://www.dawn.com/news