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France’s National Assembly has taken a preliminary step toward potentially banning social media access for individuals under the age of 15, a measure endorsed by President Emmanuel Macron.
Lawmakers in the lower house of parliament approved key components of the proposed legislation on Monday and are anticipated to vote on the complete text imminently. The bill now requires approval from the upper house, the Senate, to become law.
If enacted, the legislation would prevent young teenagers from utilizing popular platforms such as Snapchat, Instagram, and TikTok.
This initiative in France reflects a growing global trend toward implementing restrictions on children’s access to social networks, driven by mounting evidence of the potential adverse effects on mental well-being. Australia implemented similar legislation late last year.
“With this law, we will establish a clear boundary within society,” stated Laure Miller, a lawmaker instrumental in the bill’s development, as reported by Le Monde.
“We are conveying a very straightforward message: social networks are not harmless,” she added.
“These networks pledged to unite individuals, but instead, they have fragmented them. They promised to inform, yet they have overwhelmed us with information. They promised entertainment, but they have isolated people.”
President Macron has expressed his desire for the ban to be implemented by the beginning of the school year in September.
“We cannot entrust the mental and emotional health of our children to entities whose primary objective is to profit from them,” he asserted last month.
Under the proposed legislation, the state media regulator would compile a list of social media networks deemed detrimental, which would then be prohibited for individuals under 15 years of age.
A separate list of sites considered less harmful would be accessible, but solely with explicit parental consent.
The bill is widely believed to have a strong likelihood of passage, with pro-Macron parties expected to garner support from the center-right Republicans (LR) and the populist right-wing National Rally (RN).
Another provision within the bill would prohibit the use of mobile telephones in senior high schools (lycées). This restriction is already in effect in junior and middle schools.
If the legislation is enacted, France will need to establish a mechanism for age verification. A system is currently in place requiring individuals over 18 years of age to verify their age when accessing online pornography.
In Europe, Denmark, Greece, Spain, and Ireland are also reportedly considering following the Australian example. Earlier this month, the UK government initiated a consultation on potentially banning social media for individuals under 16.
The foundation of the proposed French law is a document drafted late last year by Deputy Laure Miller, who presided over a parliamentary committee inquiry into the psychological effects of TikTok and other platforms.
Independently, the government was directed to formulate its own legislation after President Macron prioritized the issue as a key focus during his final year in office.
The president has been largely sidelined from domestic politics since the Assembly elections he called in 2024 resulted in a hung parliament, and the social media ban has presented a notable opportunity to garner public support.
The cause initially faced potential setbacks due to disagreements between President Macron and his former prime minister, Gabriel Attal (Miller is a member of parliament from Attal’s party). However, the government appears to have ultimately aligned in support of the Miller bill.
If approved, the text will proceed to the upper house, the Senate, within the next month. President Macron has stated that he has instructed the government of Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu to employ an expedited procedure to ensure the legislation is enacted by September.
Without utilizing the expedited procedure (which permits a single reading as opposed to two in each of the two houses), the law would have limited prospects of overcoming the legislative backlog resulting from Prime Minister Lecornu’s challenges in passing a budget.
The bill has already undergone revisions to address concerns raised by the Council of State, the body responsible for reviewing draft legislation to ensure compliance with French and European law.
A similar law proposed in 2023, which sought to ban social media for young teenagers, proved inoperable after courts determined it violated European law.
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