France's court just blocked Macron's plan to ban kids from social media
France's highest court struck down a law this week that would have banned children under 15 from accessing social media networks such as Facebook and X. The legislation had previously sailed through the lower chambers of government with unusually broad bipartisan support. Read Entire Article
The French Constitutional Council recently blocked President Emmanuel Macron's proposed law aimed at banning children under 15 from accessing social media platforms like Facebook and X. The legislation, initially backed by a broad bipartisan majority in the National Assembly, would have also prohibited smartphone use in schools, with Wikipedia, GitHub, and scientific databases exempt from the ban.
Despite securing approval in both the lower chambers of government and the Senate, the bill was deemed unconstitutional by the Council, which ruled that it violated freedom of expression and communication. President Macron, who championed the legislation as a means to protect children from American tech companies and Chinese algorithms, now plans to revise and reintroduce the bill before the spring.
If successful, France would become the first country in the European Union to implement such a ban. Other countries, including Norway, Britain, and Greece, are also considering similar measures, while Spain is evaluating the issue. Meanwhile, Australia attempted a similar ban last year but faced challenges in enforcing it, as many underage users still managed to access social media accounts.
Experts highlight the technical difficulties in verifying users' ages, with facial scans often failing to accurately determine teenagers' ages and the risk of data breaches when collecting government IDs.
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