Amid growing concerns about cyberbullying and mental health risks, France's lower house of parliament, the National Assembly, voted on the 26th to support a bill that would ban children under 15 from using social media.
According to Central News Agency reports, the bill proposes to prohibit teenagers under 15 from using social networks, as well as “social network features” embedded within other platforms. This reflects a rising public anxiety over the impact of social media on minors.
Lawmakers passed the bill with 116 votes in favor and 23 opposed. It will next be submitted to the Senate for review, and then returned to the lower house for a final vote.
French President Emmanuel Macron noted that social media is one of the factors contributing to violent behavior among youth.
In December last year, Australia formally implemented the world’s first social media ban for those under 16, covering platforms such as Facebook, Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube. Macron has urged France to take this as a reference. He hopes that the ban can take effect before the start of the new school year in September.
Lawmakers: Children Are Reading and Sleeping Less
Centrist lawmaker Miller, when introducing the bill to parliament, stated: “With this law, we are drawing a clear line for society and pointing out that social media is not harmless.”
“Our children read less, sleep less, but compare themselves to each other more. This is a battle for freedom of thought.”
The UK, Denmark, Spain, and Greece are also considering social media bans modeled after Australia’s.
The European Parliament has called on the European Union (EU) to set a minimum age limit for children’s use of social media, but whether to implement an age threshold is still up to each member state to decide.
In France, restricting minors’ use of social media enjoys broad political and public support.