An important point of the bill is the ban on access to social networks for individuals under 15 years old. However, as emphasized by Le Monde, the wording does not obligate the platforms themselves to take action. This is because the regulation of social networks falls under the jurisdiction of the European Commission. The French government also supports this approach, hoping it will encourage online platforms to implement systems for verifying users' ages.
Additionally, the bill extends the ban on the use of mobile phones in colleges (educational institutions for children aged 11-15), introduced in 2018, to high schools.
The initiative for the urgent consideration of the bill came from President Emmanuel Macron, which implies one reading instead of the usual two in each chamber of parliament.
Gabriel Attal, former Prime Minister and current leader of the president's "Renaissance" faction in the National Assembly, expressed hope that the Senate would pass the bill by mid-February. He noted that if the law is adopted within a month, a ban on creating new accounts for users under 15 years old will come into effect on September 1, and existing accounts must be deleted by December 31.
Macron also supports these plans. "The minds of our children are not for sale. Neither to American nor to Chinese platforms. <...> By September 1, our children and teenagers will be protected. This is my task," he wrote on his account on the social network X after the vote.
Photo on the main page is illustrative: Stephane De Sakutin / AFP.
