Kathmandu— On August 14, France’s Constitutional Council struck down legislation that would have banned the use of social media by persons under the age of 15. The law, initially titled “Loi visant à protéger les mineurs face aux risques associés à l’usage des réseaux sociaux,” was adopted on July 21 and aimed to address issues like anxiety, depression, and sleep disorders associated with social media use among young people. However, the Council found that the blanket restriction was disproportionate and infringed upon fundamental rights of children.

Proportionality Concerns

The Constitutional Council invalidated Article 1 of the bill as contrary to the French Constitution, stating that the ban's scope was unduly excessive. The law covered any online platform allowing users to connect and communicate with one another, share content, and discover other users and content without considering specific functionalities or dangers. This broad approach was deemed unnecessary for achieving the goal of protecting minors.

Privacy Safeguards

The Council also criticized the lack of appropriate privacy safeguards for verifying user age. The ban implied that every person, even adults, must prove their age before accessing certain online services, but the legislature did not provide sufficient legal safeguards to ensure compliance with constitutional requirements.

Role of Parents

The decision emphasized the marginalization of parental invigilation in dealing with children's social media consumption. The Council argued that excluding parents from this role failed to consider individual risks and family-specific circumstances. Christian Cirhigiri and Sabine Witting suggested that some form of Verifiable Parental Consent (VPC) mechanism might be necessary, though it would pose significant implementation challenges.

French President Emmanuel Macron has directed Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu to make the necessary adjustments in light of the Council's decision. Other countries considering similar bans are advised to take note.

(With inputs from CounterPunch)

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Originally published on abcnews.com.np.