France seeks EU backing for revised social media ban for under-15s

Macron says his government has “found a way forward” to get the ban adopted before he leaves office.

“I have shared with the President of the European Commission my determination to ensure that Europe moves quickly and sets high standards, in order to harmonise this ban across the EU and regulate the features offered by platforms,” he wrote in a message published on the social media platforms that he says he wants to “protect” children from.

Can France really keep kids off social media, and will it make them safer?

Notifying the European Commission about the proposed legislation is a key step to ensure that it complies with EU law.

In order for the ban to be put in place before he leaves office in May, it will have to fit into a parliamentary timetable that will be dominated by budget debates.

The Constitutional Council in August ruled that the first version adopted by Parliament placed a disproportionate restriction on freedom of expression and communication, and gave no no possibility for parents to authorise access in certain cases.

However, it did recognise the “constitutional requirement to protect the best interests of the child”.

Addictive features

The new version reportedly proposes a ban on a list of harmful or addictive features for younger users, such as automatic video playback, notifications at night, or communication with unknown accounts.

This would make it possible to better target the social media platforms without naming them specifically, which is not permitted under EU rules.

The text would also provide for exemptions for teenagers aged between 13 and 15, whose parents or legal representatives could allow access.

In a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at the end of August, Macron called for a European law that would ban under-15s across the European Union from accessing social media.

Von der Leyen is expected to set out proposals on Wednesday in her opening address to the European Parliament.

“We do not have to accept addictive social media design” or “children being drawn into ever more extreme content,” she said on Thursday in a video posted on X.

(with AFP)