‘Can’t wait’: Macron says France will ban social media for under-15 in ‘coming months’

French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday said that the country will ban social media for teens soon. The development comes months after Australia disallowed children under the age of 16 from having social media accounts.

“I am proposing banning social media for children under 15,” President Emmanuel Macron said on X on Tuesday evening. “Platforms have the ability to verify age. Let’s do it,” he added.

Backed by France and Spain, Greece has spearheaded a proposal for how the EU should limit children’s use of online platforms as evidence shows that social media can have negative effects on children’s mental and physical health.

Macron said that France would move ahead with the proposal if the bloc delays banning social media for teens. Talking to broadcaster France 2, the president said, “We cannot wait.”

Meanwhile, France will also impose a ban on the sale of knives to minors in the country, days after the murder of a teaching assistant by a 14-year-old boy plunged the country into shock.

“A 15-year-old will no longer be able to buy a knife online. That means we’re going to impose massive financial sanctions and bans,” Macron said.

A secondary school pupil was arrested on Tuesday after killing a 31-year-old school assistant with a knife during a bag search in Nogent in eastern France.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Francois Bayrou’s office said a ban on the sale of knives to minors will be implemented by a decree issued within the next two weeks.

Speaking to broadcaster TF1 on Tuesday evening, Bayrou said that the measure would come into force “immediately”.

The list will include “any knife that can be used as a weapon”, he said.

Bayrou has also called for a trial of metal detectors in schools.

With inputs from agencies