PARIS, France: Taking a leaf from Australia's parliament, France's National Assembly this week backed legislation to ban children under 15 years of age from accessing social media apps such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and X.
The bill would stop children under 15 from using social media and social features on other apps, showing growing public concern about how social media affects young people.
Lawmakers voted 116 to 23 in favour of the bill. It now passes to the Senate before a final vote in the lower house.
President Emmanuel Macron has blamed social media, among other factors, for the violence among young people. He has asked France to follow Australia, which banned social media for children under 16. Consequently, social media platforms including Facebook, Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube were banned in December.
Macron wants the ban to kick in before the next academic year begins in September.
Other countries, such as Britain, Denmark, Spain, and Greece, are looking at Australia's social media ban. The European Parliament has asked the EU to set a minimum age for using social media, but each country must decide and enforce its own age limits.
In France, many politicians and members of the public support limits on children's use of social media. Far-right lawmaker Thierry Perez said the bill is needed because it is a "health emergency." He asked what the cost is to children when everyone can speak freely on social media.
Under the French plan, platforms would have to prevent young teenagers from accessing accounts by using age-check systems that comply with EU rules.
But enforcing these bans is hard. Australia's government said its ban has had problems, as many children under 16 posted online saying they could still use social media.
The French law would also extend the current ban on smartphones in primary and middle schools to include high schools.
A 2024 survey found that 73 percent of people support banning social media for children under 15.
Teenagers in Paris had mixed opinions. Some said they understand the risks of social media, while others felt a ban goes too far.
