France will block children's access to social media. A extremist law has entered into force

The French National Assembly adopted a law prohibiting the usage of social media for children and young people under 15. Earlier, a akin law was adopted by the Australian government, and a fierce debate is besides taking place in the UK.

French president Emmanuel Macron said that the ban on social media usage by people under 15 for a "important stage" on the way of further regulating social platforms. He added that the ban on social networks for people under the age of 15 is recommended by scientists and besides "massively" supported by citizens.

As many as 130 MEPs voted in favour of the bill. Against it was only 21. French government resembles the regulations adopted in Australia, where social platforms themselves are required to introduce effective solutions under the threat of advanced penalties. For serious or repeated infringements, platforms are facing financial penalties of up to $49.5 million in Australian dollars (about $32 million US).

Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, informed about compliance with the fresh regulations. From the entry into force of the ban, 550 000 profiles of people up to 16 were deactivated. The regulations include platforms specified as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, X, YouTube and Reddit, as well as Kick and Twitch streaming services.

According to a survey conducted in 2025, as many as 96 percent of Australian children aged 10-15 utilized social platforms, and 7 out of 10 of them had contact with harmful content. More than 1.4 million children usage social media in Poland. Tik-Tok is the most popular (more than 800,000 users under the age of 15). Minister of Digitization Krzysztof Gawkowski, erstwhile asked about the anticipation of introducing akin law in Poland, estimated that it is "pure populism".

Source: forsal.pl
PR

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