French Parliamentarians Vote for Age Verification on Social Media Platforms
French parliamentarians have recently voted in favor of a new law that obligates major social media platforms to verify the age of their users and obtain parental consent for individuals under the age of 15. This measure, however, remains a blind spot in the overall reform. If platforms fail to comply, they may face heavy fines.
What are the penalties?
Access to social networks by children under the age of 13 is theoretically prohibited, but in reality, many teenagers still manage to access these platforms. In an effort to enforce the rules, the new law aims to hold major web giants accountable. They will be required to obtain “the permission of one of the holders of parental rights.” To achieve this, the law instructs them to utilize “technical solutions in accordance with the reference system” developed by the Regulatory Authority for Audiovisual and Digital Communications (Arcom). However, as of now, no device or system is completely convincing in this area.
Nevertheless, elected officials have expressed their desire to put pressure on these companies. Laurent Markangeli, the initiator of this law, urges the platforms to “advance in age verification methods and heavily invest in digital education for parents, children, and teachers.” Failure to comply with the requirements may lead to significant consequences for these platforms, including fines of up to 1% of their global turnover. On the other hand, no sanctions are foreseen for families. The objective is primarily to raise awareness among platforms about their responsibility.
However, it is expected that media coverage of this new law will encourage parents to closely monitor their children’s digital practices. It is important to note that excessive screen time is not safe, especially for younger individuals. Recently, researchers at the University of Illinois in the United States discovered that children who spent less than an hour in front of screens demonstrated better cognitive performance compared to others.
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