France bans social media access for children under 15 — Pajhwok

KABUL (Pajhwok): France’s parliament has approved a law banning children under the age of 15 from creating accounts on or using social media platforms. According to Reuters, France’s Senate and National Assembly passed the legislation on Tuesday following growing concerns about the impact of social media on children’s health and safety. Under the new law, children under 15 will not be allowed to create social media accounts from 1 September. Companies operating the platforms will have four months to block existing accounts belonging to users below the age limit. Social media companies will also be required to use age-verification systems approved by France’s data protection authority to verify users’ ages. President Emmanuel Macron has called for the law to be implemented before the start of the next academic year. He has previously urged young people to reduce their use of mobile phones and spend more time reading in order to become better citizens. France is the first European country to adopt such a ban. Australia had earlier prohibited children under 16 from accessing platforms such as Facebook, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube. Reuters reported that the European Commission is also working on regulations aimed at restricting children’s access to social media and protecting young people, and will assess whether the French law complies with European Union rules.