French MPs call for social media ban on under 15s, target TikTok over harmful content
French lawmakers have urged a ban on social media for children under 15 and a nighttime curfew for older teens to protect them from harmful online content. TikTok faced particular criticism for promoting suicide, self-harm, and body image issues, along with risks of foreign influence.
French legislators have suggested the prohibition of social media among children under 15 years old and a curfew at night among teens. The suggestions, which have been proposed in a parliament report on Thursday, are meant to fight what the MPs have termed as an ocean of harmful content on the internet. TikTok was targeted as a platform that encouraged harmful content that was associated with suicide, self-harm, body image concerns and foreign political interference.
The report says that children below the age of 15 should not be allowed to access social sites at all, and that people between 15 and 18 years old should be subjected to a digital curfew of 10 pm to 8 am. The lawmakers added that the action would send a powerful message to families that using social media was not safe among young people. These suggestions come following months of hearings with families, tech leaders, and experts following several lawsuits that claimed TikTok was exposing minors to harmful content.
TikTok in the spotlight
TikTok has more than 1.5 billion users worldwide and has been accused severely by Western governments. In France, the platform was accused by MPs of promoting harmful videos and placing young users in bubbles of addictive content. The head of the committee, Arthur Delaporte, stated that he will press criminal charges against TikTok on the grounds of not only intentionally risking lives but also claiming that the company lied to parliament regarding its own internal risk assessment.
These proposals are supported by President Emmanuel Macron, who once proposed stricter regulations on the use of social media among children. Makers of laws also cautioned that failure by platforms to obey the European law within three years would lead to a possibility of imposing restrictions on all children below the age of 18. The recommendations were well received by the parents of victims, as they emphasised that the moderation tools that TikTok offers are too insufficient to ensure the safety of vulnerable users.