France Will Ban Social Media For Children, President Macron: Let's Do It

Illustration. (Unsplash/Rami Al-zayat)

French President Emmanuel Macron vowed to ban social media for children under 15 in France, introducing age verification for websites selling knives, as leaders across Europe seek to impose restrictions to protect children from harmful content online.

Speaking after the fatal stabbing of a assistant teacher in Nogent, eastern France by a 14-year-old student on Tuesday, President Macron wrote on X: "I prohibit social media for children under 15 years old. Platforms have the ability to verify age. Let's do it," reported The National News June 11.

President Macron told France 2, his country is "cannot wait" to wait for the European Union to act on proposals to limit the amount of time teenagers spend online.

He said France could continue on its own "in the coming months" if progress was not made at the EU level.

President Macron further said age verification would soon be imposed in France on sites selling knives online, similar to acts that already apply to pornographic sites.

"A 15-year-old child will no longer be able to buy a knife online. That means we will impose massive financial sanctions and bans," he stressed.

In March, French police began random searches inside and around schools looking for knives and other weapons hidden in bags.

Earlier, a new French law that forced pornographic websites to impose age verification took effect last week, prompting major websites to start blocking French users. Requests for private network services, which hide the user's location, jumped in response.

French authorities are also trying to force social media sites including X, Reddit, Bluesky and Mastodon to introduce age verification.

Separately, social media activists say greater pressure should be put on social media companies to remove harmful content recommended to children.

Mhairi Aitken, senior ethics researcher at Alan Turing Institute, said banning risks making children "pay prices" for mistakes made by social media developers and AI tools.

"We need to put more demands on developers of this system to make the system safe for children, young people, and vulnerable adults to be safely involved on the platform," he told The National.

"There is a risk that if it moves towards a ban, the impact will be on children and young people paying the price, or missing the opportunity to use these tools, which can also benefit young people," he explained.

He urged the government not to take a "tech-centric" approach to developing AI skills, but to equip children with critical thinking skills that would allow them to understand the best use and "constraints" of AI tools.

"Not only understanding how technology is developed and how it works, but also questions about why we want to use that technology? How does technology complement human skills and expertise," he said.

"With the increasing use of AI in all sectors and all areas of our lives, the skills and basic competencies of humans, such as critical thinking, creative thinking, problem solving, need to be appreciated more and more," said Aitken.

Meanwhile, Elizabeth Clutton, computer scientist and researcher at the University of Portsmouth, said the possible restrictions were "fair" given evidence of a mental health crisis in children triggered by the use of social media.

This is still in line with the younger generation learning to use the AI system, after British Prime Minister Keir Starmer revealed AI's skills push for young people at London Tech Week.

"You have to see the impact of peer pressure, which is a major driving force on these children's mental health problems," Clutton told The National during the Tech Week conference.

"This will also help parents. If you set it as a general rule, there is no pressure from peers. Scientific evidence shows that it is dangerous. I think people need that support framework when it comes to the younger generation," he said.