France Introduces Age Limit for Social Media Use

A bill to ban social media use for children under 15 in France has been approved by the parliamentary reconciliation commission. President Emmanuel Macron wants this regulation to come into effect before the new academic year starts in September.If the bill becomes law, the French Ministry of Digital Technologies will prepare a list of social media platforms that users under 15 cannot access. Social media companies will be required to use age verification systems approved by France's data protection authority to verify users' ages.The regulation will not only limit social media use but also ban smartphone use in high schools. The phone restrictions currently applied in primary and secondary schools in France are expected to be extended to high school students with this regulation.If the law is accepted, France will join the countries that have introduced age limits for children's social media use. Australia took the first comprehensive step in this area in December by implementing a social media ban for under-16s.