A French parliamentary committee has recommended a complete prohibition on social media use for children under 15, alongside a proposed nighttime “digital curfew” for teenagers aged 15 to 18.
These recommendations emerged from a comprehensive report compiled after extensive hearings involving families, social media representatives, and influencers.
Following similar legislative actions like Australia’s ban on social media for those under 16, President Emmanuel Macron’s administration has shown support for imposing stricter controls on young users.
Arthur Delaporte, head of the committee, announced plans to file a criminal lawsuit against TikTok, accusing the platform of “putting its users’ lives at risk.”
Formed in March, the committee’s mission was to examine TikTok’s psychological impact on minors, prompted by a 2024 lawsuit from seven families alleging the app exposed children to content promoting self-harm and suicidal behavior.
Laure Miller, who led the report’s drafting, highlighted that TikTok’s addictive interface and recommendation algorithm have been emulated by other social networks, thereby increasing dangers for young audiences.
While TikTok maintains that safeguarding young users is a primary concern, Delaporte countered that the platform is fully aware of its algorithm’s harmful effects and is complicit in endangering its audience.
Geraldine, a mother who lost her 18-year-old daughter to suicide, shared with AFP that after her daughter’s passing, she found videos related to self-harm that her daughter had both posted and viewed on TikTok.
“TikTok didn’t cause her death, as she was already struggling,” Geraldine, 52, explained, choosing to withhold her surname.
She criticized TikTok’s content moderation, stating it failed to protect her daughter and instead deepened her emotional struggles.
TikTok executives, representing the Chinese parent company ByteDance, informed the committee that AI-driven moderation systems removed 98% of content violating platform policies in France last year.
Nonetheless, lawmakers judged these measures inadequate, describing TikTok’s regulations as “easily bypassed” and noting that harmful material continues to spread, with algorithms trapping young users in repetitive exposure cycles.
In a criminal complaint reviewed by AFP, Delaporte accused Marlene Masure, TikTok’s head for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, of potentially providing false testimony regarding the company’s awareness of internal risks, as revealed by leaked documents.
The committee warned that if social media companies do not adhere to European regulations within three years, the ban could be extended to all users under 18.
The suggested “digital curfew” would block access to social media platforms for 15- to 18-year-olds from 10 p.m. until 8 a.m.
