France’s push for age restrictions on social media gains urgency

Is it a social media site? Is it a pornography distribution outlet? Is it an online noise factory? X is surely the first, and maybe also the second, and therefore needs to check users’ ages, according to French government officials. But a ban on all social media sites allowing any French users under 15 years old could be coming, after a school stabbing that has rocked the country prompted a search for responsibility.

President Emmanuel Macron told France2 in an interview that the country “must ban social media for children under 15,” according to a translation by The Connexion. He was quoted by Euronews as saying the country will act within a few months if the European Union does not.

The EU has taken the position that each member state must decide the age “digital majority.” Denmark and Greece are aligned with France that the age should be 15, whereas Spain is considering a proposal that would restrict social media for children under 16.

Macron referred explicitly to age verification with face biometrics in explaining his position on how the requirement would work.

Meta, owner of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, is arguing for age assurance to take place at the app store level,

But even if the social media companies are able to fend off the latest proposed restrictions, X may be relying on scans of ID documents or selfies for facial age estimation soon, anyway.

France Digital Minister Clara Chappaz told Politico that since X has willingly allowed the distribution of pornography on its site since last year, it will soon receive the same instruction to implement age assurance as porn platforms. Prior to Macron’s comments, Chappaz has said that if the EU will not act to restrict young teens’ access to social media sites, France will.

And France is not alone in its assessment. Belgium’s media regulator came to the same conclusion about X after completing research on the platform’s proliferation of pornography over a year ago.

Tanzania has blocked access to X, and the BBC reports Information Minister Jerry Silaa says this is because its stance on allowing pornography violates the country’s law. But rights activists have alleged the decision has more to do with supressing political dissent in the run-up to October elections than protecting consumers from sexually explicit material.

If so, Tanzania has chosen a popular horse to hide its political motives in. As France cracks down on pornographers flouting age assurance regulations, the European Commission has opened formal proceedings against major online porn sites, regulatory enforcement in underway in the UK, and the debate in the U.S. is currently before the Supreme Court.

Article Topics

age verification  |  children  |  face biometrics  |  France  |  social media  |  X (twitter)