On March 2, a bill put forward by deputy Laurent Marcangeli of the Horizons group, affiliated with the presidential majority, was voted on at first reading in the National Assembly. This proposal aimed to establish a numerical majority of 15 years and received the almost unanimous support of the members of the Assembly. Now, the proposal must be considered by the Senate before being finally adopted. Here is the latest information on this measure under review.

Minors under the age of 15 will need parental permission to access digital platforms.

In France, the establishment of a numerical majority at 15 years old had been mentioned as early as 2018, in accordance with European legislation which imposed a fixing between 13 and 16 years old. But until now, this majority had never been implemented. If the law is adopted, young people under the age of 15 will have to obtain the agreement of at least one of the holders of parental authority to access social networks.

During the debates in the National Assembly, many arguments were put forward to justify this parental authorization. Mention was made in particular of the need to protect young people against exposure to pornographic content, cyberbullying, unrealistic beauty standards conveyed on social networks, as well as the risk of addiction among the youngest.

However, it should be noted that parents will not be able to give consent for children under 13, except for certain platforms of "real educational and cultural interest", as one amendment clarified.

A responsibility on the shoulders of social platforms

MEPs have found a solution to regulate minors' access to social networks. They recommend that platforms implement a certified technical solution to verify the age of end users and the consent of holders of parental authority. The authorities will have to validate this tool, which could be accompanied by a fine capped at 1% of the company's worldwide turnover in the event of non-compliance with these regulations.

Although technical solutions do not yet exist, some platforms such as TikTok or Snapchat have taken the lead in helping parents control the activity of minors. Instagram also announced an artificial intelligence facial recognition solution in partnership with Yoti, a company specializing in online age verification. Checks via the identity card or by a principle of social testimony have also been put in place. So far, these solutions have only been tested in the United States, but Meta's communications director, Andy Stone, has announced their expansion to other countries.

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