Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: France’s Parliament has passed a landmark bill barring children under the age of 15 from using social media platforms.
Lawmakers in both Chambers of France’s Parliament voted in support of the legislation, which also bans students from using mobile phones in schools.
The measure will make France the first country in the European Union to approve a blanket ban on social media, as concerns grow worldwide over the harmful effects of digital content on kids. The ban will not cover access to online encyclopaedias, educational or scientific directories.
President Emmanuel Macron, who championed the ban as a signature initiative of his second term, called Parliament’s approval a major step forward.
“France opens the way by being the first country in Europe to adopt a digital majority,” Anne Le Hénanff, junior minister for AI, told senators, reported Reuters With the new legislation, children younger than 15 would not be allowed to open a social media account from September 1. Social media platforms would have another four months to close accounts already open. The platforms would also need to use age verification approved by the French privacy regulator.
Social media platforms generally oppose blanket bans and stress they already have measures to protect younger users, including age restrictions. But they have also pledged to comply where governments enact bans.
The European Commission is working on its own regulations to rein in social media across Europe to protect young people, and it will have a say on whether France’s bill respects existing European legislation.
“We left you in this jungle and it robbed you of your attention,” Macron told teenagers at an event in April, speaking of the lack of rules on social media. “We need to slow down and help you become adults, and above all citizens.”
“That’s why what we want to do is say that before 15 years old, no more social media,” he said.
