French lawmakers pass bill banning social media for under-15s

French lawmakers have passed a bill that would ban social media use by under15s a move championed by President Emmanuel Macron as a way to protect children from excessive screen timeThe lower National Assembly adopted the text by a vote of 130 to 21 in a lengthy overnight session from Monday to Tuesday It will now go to the Senate Frances upper house ahead of becoming lawMacron hailed the vote as a major step to protect French children and teenagers in a post on X The legislation which also provides for a ban on mobile phones in high schools would make France the second country to take such a step following Australias ban for under16s in DecemberAs social media has grown so has concern that too much screen time is harming child development and contributing to mental health problems The emotions of our children and teenagers are not for sale or to be manipulated either by American platforms or Chinese algorithms Macron said in a video broadcast on SaturdayAuthorities want the measures to be enforced from the start of the 2026 school year for new accountsFormer prime minister Gabriel Attal who leads Macrons Renaissance party in the lower house said he hoped the Senate would pass the bill by midFebruary so that the ban could come into force on September 1 He added that social media platforms will then have until December 31 to deactivate existing accounts that do not comply with the age limitDestiny of our countryIn addition to combatting the impact of screens and social media on the mental health of young adolescents Attal stressed that the measure would counter a number of powers that through social media platforms want to colonise minds France can be a pioneer in Europe in a month we can change the lives of our young people and our families and perhaps also change the destiny of our country in terms of independence he saidFrances public health watchdog ANSES said this month that social media such as TikTok Snapchat and Instagram had several detrimental effects on adolescents particularly girls though it was not the sole reason for their declining mental health The risks listed include cyberbullying and exposure to violent contentThe legislation stipulates that access to an online social networking service provided by an online platform is prohibited for minors under the age of 15 The draft bill excludes online encyclopedias and educational platformsAn effective age verification system would have to come into force for the ban to become reality Work on such a system is underway at the European levelThe hardleft France Unboweds LFI Arnaud SaintMartin criticised the ban as a form of digital paternalism and an overly simplistic response to the negative impacts of technology On Monday nine child protection associations urged lawmakers to hold platforms accountable not ban children from social media Macron has also backed a ban on pupils having mobile phones in high schoolsIn 2018 France banned children from using mobile phones in colleges the schools attended between the ages of 11 and 15Former prime minister Elisabeth Borne expressed reservations about the measure on Monday Its more complicated than that she told broadcaster France 2 We first need to make sure that the ban is properly enforced in middle schoolsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever