PARIS, France: President Emmanuel Macron is hoping France will become one of the first European Union countries to ban social media for under-15s, following similar moves in Australia and Indonesia.
Both houses of parliament seem to have different visions for the ban, meaning they will likely need to reach a compromise before it can become law.
The lower house National Assembly in January passed legislation demanding all social media platforms refuse new users under 15 and suspend accounts belonging to children under that age.
Authorities want the bill -- which also provides for a ban on mobile phones in high schools -- to be enforced from September.
But the right-leaning Senate, which examines the bill on Tuesday, has expressed some reservations, which could delay the bill being adopted by both houses.
A committee in the upper house has instead suggested a two-tier system, distinguishing between platforms flagged as harmful to a child´s “physical, mental, or moral development”, and those that could still be accessed with parental consent.
Their revised version of the bill excludes online encyclopaedias and educational platforms.
France´s public health watchdog last year said platforms such as TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram were detrimental to adolescents, particularly girls, though it was not the sole reason for their declining mental health.
The president has said the emotions of children and teenagers should not be “for sale or manipulated by American platforms and Chinese algorithms”.After Macron´s government suspended a flagship pensions reform last year, a social media ban could be his last major domestic change before he steps down in April 2027.
