\n<\/p>\n
France\u2019s top court has blocked a ban on social media access for under-15s, ruling that it infringed freedom of expression and privacy.<\/p>\n
The decision is a blow to President Emmanuel Macron as momentum builds around the world for Australian-style restrictions on children\u2019s use of social media.<\/p>\n
A law approved by parliament in July would have barred under-15s from opening social media accounts from the beginning of September. Tech platforms would also have been required to close existing accounts within four months and use age-verification tools approved by \u2060France\u2019s privacy regulator.<\/p>\n
However, the constitutional council found that while the law required users to provide proof \u200bof age, it failed to specify the \u201cconditions and limits\u201d \u200cunder which this should happen. It also found that the restrictions infringed freedom of expression and privacy.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe council holds that the contested provisions, on \u200cthe one hand, disproportionately infringe upon the freedom of expression and communication and, on the other, fail to provide the legal safeguards necessary to ensure the right to respect for private life,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n
Several countries have followed the example of Australia, which barred under-16s from leading social media platforms in December last year. Indonesia and Malaysia have introduced restrictions for under-16s on certain platforms, while the UK is preparing to block leading apps for the same age group next year.<\/p>\n
<\/span>\u2018Growing up too young\u2019: Londoners praise under-16s social media ban \u2013 video<\/span><\/p>\n In Australia, the affected platforms are Facebook, Instagram, Kick, Reddit, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, Twitch, X and YouTube.<\/p>\n The EU has also said it plans to seek stronger protections for children from harmful social media features, building on the digital services act that already sets rules for tech platforms.<\/p>\n Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, said last month that \u201cit is clear we need age-appropriate restrictions to platforms\u201d. She did not refer to a specific age limit, instead raising the prospect of \u201cphased and gradual access for different age ranges\u201d.<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/p>\n Sign up to This is Europe<\/span><\/p>\n The most pressing stories and debates for Europeans \u2013 from identity to economics to the environment<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n Social media companies generally oppose blanket bans, arguing that they already have measures to protect younger users, including a minimum age of 13. They \u2060have also said they would comply with government restrictions.<\/p>\n Macron, who in April \u200burged teenagers to turn off their devices and read in order to become better \u200bcitizens, has asked the French prime \u200cminister, S\u00e9bastien Lecornu, to \u200brework the legislation to address the constitutional council\u2019s concerns, according to the \u00c9lys\u00e9e.<\/p>\n The \u00c9lys\u00e9e said Macron remained determined for the reform to take effect before spring 2027, when France holds its presidential election. Macron is ineligible to stand for a third term.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" France\u2019s top court has blocked a ban on social media access for under-15s, ruling that it infringed freedom of expression and privacy. The decision is a blow to President Emmanuel Macron as momentum builds around the world for Australian-style restrictions on children\u2019s use of social media. A law approved by parliament in July would have<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":51782,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[163,493,1336,160,1609,13604,205,204,25179],"class_list":{"0":"post-51781","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-crime-justice","8":"tag-ban","9":"tag-bans","10":"tag-blocks","11":"tag-court","12":"tag-french","13":"tag-macrons","14":"tag-media","15":"tag-social","16":"tag-under15s"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51781","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=51781"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51781\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/51782"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=51781"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=51781"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=51781"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}