This Thursday, the French Parliament approved the obligation for digital platforms such as Tiktok, Snapchat and Instagram to verify the age of their users and require parental consent when they are under 15.
After unanimous approval in the French National Assembly on Wednesday, the bill was approved by the Senate this Thursday. The date of entry into force of the diploma is not yet known and will depend on the opinion of the European Commission on its compliance with Community law.
Social networks will then have one year to apply the new legislation to new registrations and two years to existing accounts, although the technical terms are still being discussed.
“Rest assured that we will ensure that this text can be applied as quickly as possible,” promised Digital Transition Minister Jean-Neuel Barraud, welcoming the measure “which will be a historic milestone.”
The “digital majority” of 15 years referred to in the diploma is not new: it was introduced in France in 2018 under European Union (EU) law.
But in this case, this limit determines the age up to which parental consent is required for the storage of personal data of a minor, which has not actually been applied so far.
In theory, social media is closed to children under 13 in France. But first enrollment occurs at an average of eight and a half years, and more than half of the children between the ages of 10 and 14 are present, according to the French National Commission for Informatics and Liberties (CNIL).
When the new diploma comes into force, in case of non-compliance with digital platforms, a penalty will be applied: a fine that can reach up to 1% of the company’s global turnover.
The text also allows the parental rights holder to request the account suspension of a minor under the age of 15 and requires networks to activate the device to track minors’ time of use.
From pornography to “online” harassment, going through unattainable beauty standards and addictive processes to gain attention, French parliamentarians in the debate have made clear the risks that the youngest need to protect.
The new diploma “is not enough by itself to end excesses,” its initiator Laurent Markangeli admitted on Wednesday, calling for “advancement of age verification methods and massive investment in digital education for parents, children and teachers.” .
This is not about “depriving young people of access to the social network, but about providing an adapted response to abuses caused by early and uncontrolled use,” emphasized Senate speaker Alexandra Borchio Fontimp of Os. Republicans, the party of French President Emmanuel Macron.
These new legal provisions are part of a series of initiatives by the presidential party’s parliamentary group.
The Diploma on protecting the right to depict children on social networks was recently approved as a whole by the two houses of parliament, which have yet to write a joint version. In March, the National Assembly also generally approved measures against children’s excessive exposure to screens.
From July 4, the government will defend in the Senate a bill designed to “make the digital space more secure and regulated”, in particular, with measures to enact the obligation of pornographic “sites” to check whether their users are of legal age.
Age verification “is the mother of all battles,” the digital transition minister insisted.