Macron in favour of Europe-wide social media age restriction for teens under 15

French President Emmanuel Macron said successful a reside this week that he would for illustration to spot Europe create a “digital majority” of 15, meaning that earlier that age, parents would power entree to nan “digital space”.

France enacted a rule successful July 2023 that requires online societal web work providers operating successful France to garbage children nether 15 unless expressly authorised by 1 of their parents aliases guardians.

Failure to comply pinch this responsibility could consequence successful nan societal level being fined up to 1 per cent of its worldwide sales.

“Does anyone nonstop their kid into nan jungle astatine 5, 10 aliases 12?,” Macron said successful his reside connected Thursday astatine nan Sorbonne.

“Today, for respective hours a day, we unfastened nan doorway to nan jungle,” he added, referencing cyberstalking, pornographic content, pedo-criminality and nan deficiency of moderation connected integer platforms.

As children and teenagers entree exertion astatine a younger age, location person been concerns regarding nan websites and platforms they tin access. Many societal media platforms require children to beryllium astatine slightest 13 to create an account.

European information regulations presently require that a teen must beryllium 16 to person their individual information processed unless their genitor aliases guardian provides their consent but this property tin beryllium lowered to 13 by EU states.

Thomas Rohmer, president and laminitis of nan French Observatory for Parenthood and Digital Education told Euronews Next, however, that immoderate 19 per cent of children aged betwixt 7 and 10 person said they usage TikTok, truthful changing this inclination mightiness beryllium tricky.

But Rohmer says he doesn’t “believe successful restrictions but much successful regularisation and education,” pointing retired that down nan net and societal media are humans truthful erstwhile location are issues specified arsenic harassment, group are down it.

Difficult implementation

Several countries person pushed for much controlled entree to definite websites and platforms, for example, pornographic sites, erstwhile it comes to underage users.

However, nan implementation of specified measures presents important challenges.

One of nan imaginable options included websites requesting an ID from users but France’s information authority (Cnil) vetoed this solution owed to nan privateness risk. Facial study was besides vetoed for nan aforesaid reasons.

Another solution involves utilizing a third-party verifier during an property verification process.

“This method situation hasn’t been resolved,” Rohmer said. For nan moment, nary implementing decree of nan French rule has been issued.

“There’s besides nan mobility of what we are expected to do erstwhile it comes to children and teenagers who already person a floor plan connected societal media,” he added.

As nan rumor deed a dead-end successful France, it seems improbable that further integer property restrictions will beryllium implemented astatine a European standard anytime soon.

“Even if we find a method solution. You person to retrieve that you can't coerce users. If a solution is overwhelmingly rejected by users, location is simply a consequence that they will move distant from nan platforms imposing it and move connected to others,” Rohmer concluded.