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French President takes aim at American platforms and Chinese algorithms as
France moves to ban social media for under-15s

Date:
Tue, 27 Jan 2026 22:00:00 +0000

Description:
The emotions of our children and teenagers are not for sale  France wants its
own social media ban for minors, and it wont be the last we see in 2026.

FULL STORY

French MPs just voted 116-23 in favor of a social media ban aimed at minors
in what is being heralded as a major step towards protecting kids and
teenagers online. 

As you can imagine, not everyone is happy with the proposed rules. 

The bill hasnt been passed into law yet  Frances Senate must also approve it,
and some wonder if it will be blocked under European law after a similar bill
was stopped in 2023  but it follows in the footsteps of similar rules weve
been seeing in Australia, the United Kingdom, and some US states. 

Speaking in a video broadcast about the bill, French President Emmanuel 
Macron said, The emotions of our children and teenagers are not for sale or 
to be manipulated, either by American platforms or Chinese algorithms  clear
references to the likes of Instagram, X, and TikTok.

Once introduced, these and other social media services will need to verify 
the age of French users or bar them from accessing content. Given that some
kind of age verification system may be coming at the European level, France
will probably be just the first EU nation to impose such a ban  case in 
point, Ireland, Spain, and Denmark are also considering such rules. 

While many parents, lawmakers, and even some children have reacted 
positively, others have had fewer kind words to share. 

Scrolling through (ironically) social media, youll find plenty of comments
calling this legislative overreach. While others are concerned about needing
to share their IDs online  especially following various data leaks involving
IDs from countries that have imposed similar rules (such as a Discord breach
which saw hackers steal thousands of government-ID photos).

The better of two evils

You dont have to look far to find reports showing the harmful effects of
social media on mental health  some of which come from the companies
themselves . Nor to find examples of the ways platforms could be used and
abused by users and their own creators  such as the recent example of Grok
being used to create explicit images of women and children , or whistleblower
claims that Meta platforms can target users with ads based on their emotional
state (something Meta has denied doing, but did admit to researching across a
series of statements back in 2017).

At the same time, I know how valuable social media can be. YouTube and TikTok
can be incredible educational platforms, social media can provide access to
invaluable news sources, create spaces for people to organize action around 
an important cause they care about, or simply give people the chance to find 
a crowd they can fit in with that they might not be able to find locally. 

But does this good outweigh the evils? 

Honestly, Im not sure. If asked to choose one extreme or the other, Im in
favor of a ban  in part because widespread bans could be what forces 
platforms to finally clean up their act. 

Id still prefer a more nuanced approach. 

Something which involves identity verification thats secure and private to
check age and that someone is a human, which addresses the issues plaguing
social media that go beyond those simply affecting minors to those affecting
users of all ages too, and that gives parents the ability to make decisions
for their child (choosing to allow access to certain platforms when they
believe their kid is ready). 

Though that might be too much to ask of politicians who arent as internet
savvy as they should be. Maybe as we see more bans over the coming year,
theyll prove me wrong and find an approach that works for everyone. 

======================================================================
Link to news story:
https://www.techradar.com/computing/social-media/french-president-takes-aim-at
-american-platforms-and-chinese-algorithms-as-france-moves-to-ban-social-media
-for-under-15s

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