It's a good start. Ban it for all under 30s and over 60s.
That’s a little harsh. Under 25 and over 75 would be more appropriate.
France passes bill to ban social media use by under-15s
21–30 of 172 posts
Re: France passes bill to ban social media use by under-15s
#22Please note that the Conseil d'État, the highest French court for administrative matters, has issued a very skeptical opinion on this bill, saying that only the EU can impose new obligations onto digital platforms.
https://www.lemonde.fr/en/france/article/2026/01/27/french-l...
> The amended and adopted text now states that "access to an online social network service provided by an online platform is prohibited for minors under the age of 15." This is a more ambiguous formulation, as it does not explicitly impose any requirements on social networks. However, as a consequence, "platforms will have to implement age verification measures to ensure the effectiveness of this measure," the government promised in the explanatory statement of the amendment. For major platforms like Instagram or Snapchat, sanctions would fall under the jurisdiction of the European Commission.
> This has raised eyebrows among several law experts specializing in European digital law, whom Le Monde interviewed. "The bill is legally fragile," warned Brunessen Bertrand, law professor at the University of Rennes-I. In her view, it is based on a "broad and highly questionable interpretation" of European rules.
Re: France passes bill to ban social media use by under-15s
#23This kind of legislation is frankly just bad. Any TV station in america could have broadcasted the worst things in the world to thousands of people affecting their lives together. You know how we handled that? Legislation on the broadcasters. We didn't stop kids from watching TV.
Bad content reaching kids is not the issue. (Well, it is part of it…) The whole thing is bad. We don't give cigarettes to kids either.
Actually, we don't stop kids from buying cigarettes, we punish stores that sell cigarettes to kids and are caught! That's my entire point! You just made my argument for me!
Re: France passes bill to ban social media use by under-15s
#24This kind of legislation is frankly just bad. Any TV station in america could have broadcasted the worst things in the world to thousands of people affecting their lives together. You know how we handled that? Legislation on the broadcasters. We didn't stop kids from watching TV.
Key word is "broadcast". TV programming is not personally tailored to melt your specific amygdala.
Re: France passes bill to ban social media use by under-15s
#25Earlier quoted context omitted.
I can't read the article because cloud flare won't let me, but how is this ban a violation of privacy? From my knowledge of social media it would likely increase the privacy of those not using these platforms.
I think the privacy concern is how to prove you're of age without needing to hand over a government ID.
Oh ok, like the porn ban in the UK.
Then if the age verification is in the hands of these companies that is bad. There's nothing they'd like more than knowing exactly who you are.
Re: France passes bill to ban social media use by under-15s
#26This kind of legislation is frankly just bad. Any TV station in america could have broadcasted the worst things in the world to thousands of people affecting their lives together. You know how we handled that? Legislation on the broadcasters. We didn't stop kids from watching TV.
Key word is "broadcast". TV programming is not personally tailored to melt your specific amygdala.
An algo-driven feed is absolutely analogous to a broadcast and saying otherwise is absurd.
Re: France passes bill to ban social media use by under-15s
#27So I guess in 10 or so years whoever doesn't submit their ID card to every online service in existence will not be able to do much of anything online.
Re: France passes bill to ban social media use by under-15s
#28I've noticed that there's a decent amount of people who had benefitted having access to computer and internet really early on that seemed to be pro on banning teen access to social media, is there a reason why? the social media of today don't seem all that much different from the internet forums of back in the day if algorithmic amplification is the reason then I'm not sure why social media as a whole has to be banne…
Social media is the rock amd roll of its time.
Every generation has to have a panic about the children.
Re: France passes bill to ban social media use by under-15s
#29Just the other day the FT put out an article that the current generation of graduates are so serially online that they freeze or go silent when faced with basic small talk questions.
I have encountered this for myself.
A few months ago New York banned phones at lunch and was discussed on HN [1]
We live in times where parents and schools no longer have the authority to enforce behaviour and social media is peer pressure from the entire world.
These bans are obviously heavy handed but hopefully they are a reversion back to an equilibrium that gives our young a chance to properly develop...
Re: France passes bill to ban social media use by under-15s
#30Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm not a fan of the law, but your argument is pretty weak. The dose makes the poison and all that. It seems rationale to believe that humans can construct an entertainment mechanism so addictive as to warrant safeguards. The debate is mostly around whether this is that point and whether the trade-offs are worth it.
> It seems rationale to believe that humans can construct an entertainment mechanism so addictive as to warrant safeguards. Okay but the conversation isn't "Should we have safeguards" it's "How do we handle the poison?".
...yes? Humans love their poisons even if it's not in their best interest to love them. It's all about giving people a fighting chance to make conscious decisions about how they want to live their life. If we crush a fledgling brain with social media before it's learned to fend for itself then we're removing true freedom of choice.
To me, it seems pretty analogous to alcohol, etc. You don't prohibit alcohol. You define an age in which you're willing to declare people mature enough to tolerate letting them make their own decisions.