Sawt Falasteen - French lawmakers expected to approve social media ban for under-15s

Parliamentarians from the upper and lower houses reached a compromise on the bill's text on Monday, paving the way for a vote on its final adoption, which is expected to pass despite criticism from parties on the left.

"Tomorrow, France will become the first country in Europe to introduce a digital age limit to better protect our children online," French Digital Minister Anne Le Henanff said on X.

President Emmanuel Macron has championed the law as a flagship reform of his final term in office and pledged to enforce it by September, meaning another element of the bill, a mobile phone ban in secondary schools, would be in place by the beginning of the school year.

The social media rule is expected to be rolled out in two stages, the first blocking under-15s from creating new accounts from September 1. The ban would apply to existing accounts from January 2027, according to the text.

Lawmakers agreed on the need for regulation, as warnings have multiplied over the harmful affects of social media on children.

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 two chambers had disagreed on approach, however.

French Senators had opted for a two-tier system distinguishing between blacklisted platforms flagged as harmful to a child's development, and those that could still be accessed with parental consent.

But the lower house's broader approach demanding social media platforms refuse new users under 15 and suspend accounts belonging to children under that age prevailed.

Exceptions are provided for sites such as online encyclopaedias and educational platforms.

- EU role -

The blacklisting system would have taken more time, including fresh consultations with the European Commission on the criteria, and carried a "small risk" of non-compliance with European law, said centrist senator Catherine Morin-Desailly, in charge of the bill in the upper house.

The EU itself has been mulling a social media ban since a push by member states, including France, Greece and Spain, for limiting access.

Last week, EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said children should have "phased and gradual access" to social media.

Enforcement of regulations will also face the challenge of setting up effective age verification systems.

Lawmaker Laure Miller told AFP platforms will be expected to integrate "the tool or tools" of their choice for this purpose, with various options available or in the works, including an age-verification app unveiled in April by the European Commission.

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.

With the law's adoption, France would join a growing list of more than 20 countries that have taken steps toward regulating children's social media access.

In December last year, Australia became the first country in the world to require TikTok, YouTube, Snapchat and other top sites to remove accounts held by under-16s, or face heavy fines.

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M.Qasim--SF-PST