France to fast-track social media ban for kids, ban phones in schools

French President Emmanuel Macron says he wants the government to fast-track a ban on social media use for kids under 15 and ensure the legislation is in place before the start of the next school year in September.

“The brains of our children and adolescents are not for sale,” Macron told BFMTV.

“Their emotions are not for sale or to be manipulated, whether by American platforms or Chinese algorithms.”

“We are banning social media for under-15s, and we are going to ban mobile phones in our high schools. I believe this is a clear rule – clear for our teenagers, clear for families, clear for teachers,” Macron added.

The vote in the National Assembly will be held on Monday and is expected to receive the green light. The bill will then go to the Senate.

The ban is being spearheaded by Laure Miller, a lawmaker from Macron’s Renaissance party. According to Miller, the government needs to act fast because “right now, there is no age verification whatsoever.”

“You can enter any date of birth and access the platform. What we want to impose on platforms, by strictly enforcing the European Digital Services Act, is real age verification when you access a social network. That changes everything, because users will actually have to prove whether they are over or under-15,” she said.

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After Australia banned under-16s from most social media platforms in December, more Western countries are planning to enact legislation to protect young people from potential harm.

In Australia, more than 4.7 million social media accounts deemed to be held by under-16s have been deactivated or removed. Meta alone confirmed that it removed roughly 550,000 accounts belonging to users under 16.

Social media platforms like TikTok and Snapchat are seriously harming children’s mental health, the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (ANSES) warned earlier this month.

The risks listed are numerous, including cyberbullying, constant comparison to others, and exposure to violent content. Also highlighted are attention-grabbing mechanisms that disrupt sleep.

Miller conceded that there will always be ways to circumvent the ban but suggested that France should “at least put our foot in the door.”

“The brains of our children and adolescents are not for sale,”

Emmanuel Macron

The United Kingdom is also about to take action, it seems. The country’s education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, wrote to headteachers in England, urging schools to be phone-free throughout the day.

According to Phillipson, students shouldn’t use their devices even as calculators or for research, and teachers are also advised not to use their phones in front of children.

British ministers are discussing the possibility of introducing an Australian-style social media ban for under-16s in the UK. The digital age of consent might be raised, and addictive app design features such as “streaks” and infinite scrolling” could be restricted.

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