“He instills the narrative that the violence comes from the platforms,” the representative said. “For the president, there are no problems in society; everything is exacerbated by social networks.”
Macron has been touting a social media and screen age limits since the beginning of his second term. A law limiting social media use for those younger than 15 was even passed in 2023 without the Elysée’s explicit support, but it fell into limbo both due to the technical complexities that come with age verification and because it came into conflict with European law, most notably the Digital Services Act.
A committee of experts organized by the Elysée formally recommended in April 2024 the 15-year-old age limit for social media, and in June of that year Macron vowed to put it in place. But then he lost his parliamentary majority.
Few are expecting immediate action, despite the urgency Macron expressed on Tuesday.
A lawyer with the Fondation pour l’Enfance, a French NGO that defends children’s rights, told POLITICO that Macron’s team often ends up with just “announcements rather than concrete measures.”
A ministerial adviser told POLITICO that Macron’s office has already organized several meetings for the coming weeks and months to move quickly on limiting both social media use and screen time for French children.
Joshua Berlinger contributed to this report.