Paris. French lawmakers on Tuesday approved a ban on social media access for children under the age of 15, as concerns grow worldwide over the impact social media has on the health and safety of minors.
France becomes the first European country to introduce such a measure, following Australia, where the world’s first national ban preventing children under 16 from accessing platforms including Facebook, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube came into force in December.
“France opens the way by being the first country in Europe to adopt a digital majority,” Anne Le Hénanff, junior minister for artificial intelligence, told senators.
Both houses of Parliament — the Senate and the National Assembly — approved the legislation on Tuesday.
President Emmanuel Macron, who in April urged young people to spend less time on their phones and read more to become better citizens, wants the law implemented before the start of the next academic year.
Under the new legislation, children below 15 will not be allowed to open social media accounts from September 1. Platforms will have an additional four months to close existing accounts belonging to underage users. They will also be required to use age-verification systems approved by France’s privacy regulator.
Social media companies have generally opposed blanket bans, arguing that they already have measures to protect younger users, including age restrictions. However, they have pledged to comply with laws introduced by governments.
The European Commission is also developing regulations aimed at strengthening protections for young people online and will assess whether France’s legislation complies with existing European laws.
