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Amidst the global push to crack down on kids’ internet usage, France this week became the first member of the European Union to pass a social media ban for children under the age of 15.
French President Emmanuel Macron, whose term ends next year, has pushed for social media bans before. Last June, he urged the European Union to implement a social media ban for children under 15 after a 14-year-old boy fatally stabbed a teaching assistant during a bag search, reported Reuters. Macron told a French public broadcaster at the time that if the E.U. failed to act, France would take action.
On Tuesday, Macron finally got his wish, with both chambers of Parliament passing the legislation, which also includes a high school phone ban, by overwhelming margins. The bill still has to be finalized by the Constitutional Council before it becomes law.
“Under the terms of the law,” The New York Times reports, “it would be up to social media platforms to use age verification systems to filter out underage users.” Exceptions would exist for online encyclopedias and educational digital services. The ban would apply to existing accounts starting in January of next year, according to The Guardian.
Despite its popular support, the bill is not without its detractors. As the Associated Press reports, “lawmakers from the left-wing party France Unbowed opposed the bill, arguing that its constitutionality is unclear, that it would effectively end online anonymity, and that it would be impossible to enforce.”
But critics of restrictive social media policies remain a minority, as the online “safety” movement gains global momentum. Italy, Poland, Portugal, and Spain are also drafting laws to restrict social media use, according to The New York Times. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has suggested that the European Union may soon face age-verification measures, and the United Kingdom has plans underway to enforce a social media ban for kids under 16 by next year. Notably, Australia passed a law banning kids under 16 from social media in 2024, but the country’s young people have found sneaky ways to skirt the restrictions.
Even if tech-savvy kids can use VPNs and other workarounds to access age-restricted apps, government-imposed social media bans still create a chilling effect online. As Reason’s Elizabeth Nolan Brown has noted, whatever remains of the open internet may soon be upended by overly zealous regulators. When we allow governments to regulate the internet and social media, Brown recently wrote, “we normalize the idea that every online interaction should be traceable and every forum we visit should know who we are.”
France’s ban reinforces the idea that bureaucrats and the state, not parents or individuals, should control and gatekeep access to social media. Most disturbingly, few voices oppose these restrictive measures. In fact, much of the Western world appears ready to embrace these laws and relinquish online freedom in the name of “protecting children.” The end of the open internet will be ushered in with popular support by the world’s most “free” countries.
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