RRome, 27 Jan. (askanews) – The lower house of the French Parliament has approved a bill banning social media for children under 15, a measure strongly supported by Emmanuel Macron to protect children and young people from excessive time spent in front of screens. The French president commented on X: “Because our children’s brains are not for sale. Neither on American platforms nor on Chinese networks.”
France, social media and minors: stop for under 15s. The law desired by Emmanuel Macron passes
The bill, which obtained 130 votes in favor and 21 against in the night marathon in the National Assembly, will now have to pass examination in the Senate, the French upper house, before becoming law. In French schools, students mostly say they are in favor of the measure:
“On the one hand, I think maybe they should focus on prevention for young people, instead of imposing bans. But on the other hand, I think it’s a good thing because now there is content that is offensive to younger people,” said a 17-year-old French high school girl.
«Telephone use is rooted in our generation»
“It could prevent cyberbullying, so it could be useful,” confided another 16-year-old student.
“We are now in a generation where phone use is ingrained in us, so it’s hard to take that away from a child. Regardless, they will always find a way to use a cell phone or be on social media,” he added.
“I think it’s a great idea. For example, I deleted TikTok because it took up too much of my time, I couldn’t do my homeworkI always had my mind elsewhere instead of dedicating myself to my homework,” confided another teenager, 16 years old.
“Actually, I wish this law had been passed earlier. This way, I could have taken a break from my phone,” said another student at a technical college, revealing that she had the device when she was little and that she advises parents not to give it to their children.
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