France’s National Assembly approved a bill this Thursday that would set the “age of majority” for the digital age at 15, the age limit up to which social networks must ask for parental permission to register users.
The initiative, which came from the parliamentary group Horizontes and has yet to be sanctioned by the Senate, was approved on first reading by 82 votes to two.
This measure affects all types of social networks such as TikTok or Snapchat, which will have to verify the age of users through procedures authorized by the French authorities.
In case of non-compliance, the bill provides for financial sanctions for platforms that do not comply with the rules.
The proposal is based on international studies that link social media use to an increase in mental health problems among adolescents.
The notion of a digital majority already existed in French regulations – in line with European law – but until now it referred to an age limit for which parental permission was required to process the personal data of minors, which in practice did not prevent young people from registering on social networks.