France becomes the next country to ban teens from social media
French lawmakers have approved legislation that would bar children under the age of 15 from using social media, marking another push by governments to protect minors from harmful online content after Australia adopted similar rules last year.
France’s National Assembly (the lower house of the nation’s parliament) passed the bill by a margin of 130 votes to 21 following a late-night debate, according to AFP. The proposal will now be sent to the Senate, the country’s upper chamber, before it can become law. Supporters of the measure hope it will take effect in the autumn ahead of the next school year.
The restrictions would apply to major social media platforms, including Facebook and Instagram, owned by Meta Platforms Inc., TikTok, operated by ByteDance Ltd., and Snapchat, run by Snap Inc. None of these companies has responded yet, but they have previously promised their platforms already include safety tools designed to protect younger users, criticising outright bans.
With France’s President Emmanuel Macron welcoming the vote, describing it as a “major step” toward safeguarding children, it’s expected that the legislation will be approved soon, removing millions of teen users once implemented.
With this step, France joins Australia, which in December became one of the first nations to require social media companies to prevent children under 16 from accessing their services.
The global movement to bar children and young teens from social media is gaining ground quickly. Lawmakers in countries ranging from Indonesia to Denmark and Brazil have also said they are considering similar measures.
To stop this trend, many social media platforms have announced serious steps to limit teen access and make these services safer by restricting interactions between adults and minors, introducing parental controls, limiting content access, and attempting to curb cyberbullying. So far, these steps have been welcomed by many, but it’s unclear if they would be enough to quell the movement.
