French lawmakers pass bill banning under-15s from accessing social media

By Newley Purnell 

French lawmakers passed a bill banning children aged under 15 from accessing social media, the latest government to push forward rules to shield minors from toxic content following the passage of Australia’s landmark legislation last year.

  The national assembly adopted the bill by a vote of 130 to 21 after a late night session, Agence France-Press reported. It will now go to the senate, France’s upper house, before it could become law. Lawmakers are hoping the ban will come into force before the new school year begins in the autumn.

 

The ban targets popular social media apps including Meta Platforms Inc.’s Facebook and Instagram, ByteDance Ltd.’s TikTok and Snap Inc.’s Snapchat. Those companies didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment about the French legislation, but they’ve previously said they have longstanding safety features on their platforms aimed at protecting young users.

 

 

President Emmanuel Macron hailed the move as a “major step” to shield children, urging the senate to pass the bill into law in a post on X. 

 

“I have asked the government to fast-track the process,” Macron wrote. “Because our children’s brains are not for sale. Not to American platforms, nor to Chinese networks.”

 

Australia in December became the world’s first democracy to require social media platforms to keep children under 16 off of their services. Policymakers from Indonesia to Denmark and Brazil say they are planning similar moves.