French President Emmanuel Macron has announced plans to advocate for European Union regulations that would prohibit children under 15 from using social media. This initiative comes in the wake of a tragic stabbing incident at a school in eastern France, an event that has left the nation in shock.
In a televised interview on Tuesday night, Macron expressed his desire to see results from this regulatory push within the next few months.
“If that does not work, we will start to do it in France. We cannot wait,” he stated during his conversation with France 2, shortly after a 31-year-old school aide was fatally stabbed at a middle school in Nogent, Haute-Marne, as authorities conducted a search for weapons.
Authorities have since detained a 14-year-old student in connection with the attack. Prime Minister Francois Bayrou addressed parliament, indicating that the incident was not a singular occurrence. Macron attributed part of the increasing violence among youth to the influence of social media.
In a post on the social media platform X, following the interview, Macron emphasized that experts support the need for such regulations, asserting, “Platforms have the ability to verify age. Do it.”
Macron’s remarks align with a growing global trend of implementing measures to limit children’s social media use. Last year, Australia enacted a ban on social media for individuals under 16, following a heated public discussion, setting a precedent for other jurisdictions aiming to regulate Big Tech.
While most social media platforms have age restrictions preventing under-13s from accessing their services, a report by Australia’s online safety regulator revealed that children frequently manage to circumvent these limitations.
© Thomson Reuters 2025
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
