France backs social media ban for under-15s
In the letter, Macron says he is making a personal appeal to Trump to reconsider the sanctions, which he argues were unjustly imposed. PHOTO: AFP
France's parliament on Tuesday was set to approve a bill banning social media access for children under 15, making France the first European country to bar children from apps such as TikTok.
President Emmanuel Macron has championed the ban as a flagship reform of his final term in office and pledged to enforce it by September.
The bill was overwhelmingly approved by the Senate on Tuesday, with 243 votes in favour and two against.
The draft law was expected to be adopted by the National Assembly on Tuesday evening, barring surprises.
A growing number of countries are taking steps to restrict social media access amid multiplying warnings over its harmful effects on children.
"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.
The ban would be rolled out in two stages, with under-15s blocked from creating new accounts from September 1. The ban would apply to existing accounts from January 2027, according to the text.
Le Henanff said ahead of the vote that the timeline was realistic, "because age-verification tools already exist" with others still in the works, and the onus was on the platforms to impose the rule.
"For four months, all of us in France will have to prove our age," she told journalists.
"If someone is under fifteen, the account will be closed." The minister also gave assurances that users' personal data would be protected