NAIROBI, Kenya — French President Emmanuel Macron is taking a hard swipe at social media giants, proposing a sweeping ban on platforms for kids under 15 across the European Union. The bold push comes in the wake of a tragic school stabbing that has once again left France stunned and grieving.
In a late-night interview on Tuesday with France 2, Macron didn’t mince words. He wants Brussels to act—fast. But if EU regulation doesn’t land soon, he’s ready to go it alone. “If that does not work, we will start to do it in France. We cannot wait,” Macron declared just hours after a deadly attack at a middle school in Nogent, Haute-Marne.
The incident involved a 14-year-old student who allegedly stabbed and killed a 31-year-old school aide during a routine bag search. Police have since taken the teen in for questioning, and while investigations are ongoing, Macron has already pointed to what he sees as one of the root causes: social media.
Prime Minister Francois Bayrou echoed that sentiment in Parliament, stating that the violent attack was far from an isolated case. The incident follows a troubling trend of rising youth violence in France—a pattern Macron believes is being accelerated by unchecked access to online platforms.
And he’s not just talking. Hours after the interview, Macron took to X (formerly Twitter), pressing tech platforms to step up: “Platforms have the ability to verify age. Do it,” he wrote.
He noted that experts across sectors back stricter regulation, citing growing concerns over how algorithms and content exposure are shaping young minds.
France isn’t the only country sounding the alarm. Australia made headlines last year by implementing one of the strictest bans on social media for children under 16, sparking global debate—and admiration from those frustrated with Big Tech’s laissez-faire attitude toward child safety.
While many platforms, including Instagram and TikTok, technically bar kids under 13, enforcement is laughably weak. A recent report from Australia’s online safety regulator found that kids were easily bypassing these age checks, making the supposed barriers all but useless.
Macron’s proposed regulation aims to close that loophole for good—at least in France and, ideally, across the EU. The plan would require platforms to actually verify users’ ages and enforce real consequences for non-compliance.
His announcement lands at a time when conversations around youth safety online are becoming more urgent—and more political.
With Europe already regulating AI and data privacy, Macron’s move could set the stage for another digital showdown between EU lawmakers and tech corporations that have long operated in a grey zone.
Whether the EU embraces Macron’s proposal or France ends up forging ahead alone, one thing is clear: the era of letting social media regulate itself—especially where children are concerned—might finally be coming to an end.
