President Emmanuel Macron wants to fast-track legislation to ban social media for children under 15 so it can take effect at the start of the new school year in September.
IIn a video aired by BFM-TV, he said he had asked the government to use an accelerated procedure so the bill could be adopted by the Senate in time.
Macron argued that children’s minds and emotions should not be exploited or manipulated by foreign digital platforms and algorithms. France’s health watchdog says that about half of teenagers spend between two and five hours a day on their smartphones.
His comments follow similar discussions in the UK, where the government is considering stricter rules to protect young people from harmful content and excessive screen time.
In France, nearly 90% of 12- to 17-year-olds use a smartphone daily to access the internet, with 58% using social networks.
The agency warned of harms such as lower self-esteem and greater exposure to risky content, while some French families have filed complaints against TikTok after teenage suicides. Macron said the plan includes banning social networks for under-15s and mobile phones in high schools, pointing to Australia’s similar ban, which has already removed millions of child accounts and sparked global debate.
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