France follows Australia's path: Children under 15 will not be able to use social media, mobile phones are also banned in school.

Signaling a major global shift in response to the growing influence of media and its impact on adolescent mental health, the French National Assembly has now approved a landmark bill.

This bill completely bans internet media use for children under the age of 15. The bill passed by a landslide 130-21 in a vote held late Monday night.

This law will not only regulate internet media platforms but also completely ban mobile phone use in high schools.

Social media ban for children under 15

French President Emmanuel Macron has requested that this law be fast-tracked so that it can be implemented by the start of the new academic year in September. Macron strongly supported the decision, saying, "The minds of our children are not for sale—neither to American platforms nor to Chinese networks." Their dreams shouldn't be dictated by algorithms.

Why is this strict law needed? A recent report by France's health watchdog revealed shocking statistics. According to the report, nearly 90 percent of children aged 12 to 17 use the internet daily. Of these, 58 percent are active on internet media.

On average, every second teenager spends two to five hours a day on a smartphone. Experts believe that excessive internet media use has led to low self-esteem, depression, and suicidal tendencies among adolescents.

A complete ban on mobile phone use in high schools.

Several families in France have also sued platforms like TikTok, claiming that their children's harmful content was responsible for their children's suicides. This bill, a growing trend in Europe and globally, is modeled after the European Union's Digital Services Act.

Across Europe, a proposal is currently underway to raise the minimum age to 16 to protect minors online. The British government is also considering internet media restrictions to protect teenagers from harmful content and excessive screen time.

Australia has already banned internet media for children under the age of 16, resulting in the closure of approximately 4.7 million accounts. What is the scope of this law? While the law is strict, it does have some exceptions.

This ban will not apply to online encyclopedias (such as Wikipedia), educational or scientific directories, and platforms that share open-source software. Some opposition leaders have called this a violation of personal freedom, but given the growing mental health crisis, it is being considered a major achievement for France.

This historic step to protect children's mental health

Following Australia, the French National Assembly has also approved a landmark bill, signaling a major global shift in response to the growing influence of internet media and its impact on adolescent mental health.

This bill completely bans the use of internet media for children under the age of 15. The bill was passed by a landslide 130-21 vote late Monday night.

This law will not only regulate internet media platforms but also completely ban the use of mobile phones in high schools. French President Emmanuel Macron has requested that the law be fast-tracked so that it can be implemented by the start of the new academic year in September.

Macron strongly supported the decision, saying, "The minds of our children are not for sale—neither to American platforms nor to Chinese networks. Their dreams should not be dictated by algorithms."

Why is this strict law needed? A recent report by France's health watchdog presented shocking statistics. According to the report, nearly 90 percent of children aged 12 to 17 use the internet daily.

Of these, 58 percent of teenagers are active on internet media. On average, one in five teenagers spends two to five hours a day on their smartphones. Experts believe that excessive use of internet media has led to low self-esteem, depression, and increased suicidal tendencies among teenagers.

Several families in France have even sued platforms like TikTok, claiming that harmful content on the platforms contributed to their children's suicides. This bill, a growing trend in Europe and globally, is modeled after the European Union's Digital Services Act.

Accounts of 4.7 million children closed

Currently, a proposal is underway to raise the minimum age to 16 to protect minors online. The British government is also considering internet media restrictions to protect teenagers from harmful content and excessive screen time.

Australia has already banned internet media for children under 16, resulting in the closure of approximately 4.7 million accounts. What is the scope of this law? While this law is strict, it does have some exceptions.

The ban will not apply to online encyclopedias (such as Wikipedia), educational or scientific directories, and platforms that share open-source software. Some opposition leaders have called it an infringement on personal freedom, but it is being hailed as a major achievement for France given the growing mental health crisis.