Macron to push for ban on social media for under-15s after school stabbing

PARIS – French President Emmanuel Macron said he would push for European Union regulation to ban social media for children under the age of 15 after a fatal stabbing at a school in eastern France, the latest such violent attack that has left the country reeling.

Mr Macron said in an interview late on June 10 that he hoped to see results within the next few months.

“If that does not work, we will start to do it in France. We cannot wait,” he told the France 2 public broadcaster, hours after a fatal stabbing at a middle school in Nogent, Haute-Marne.

The police questioned a 14-year-old student on June 10 over

the knifing of a 31-year-old school aide

during a bag search for weapons.

Prime Minister Francois Bayrou told Parliament the incident was not an isolated case. Mr Macron said social media was one of the factors to blame for violence among young people.

Writing on social media platform X after the interview, Mr Macron said such regulation was backed by experts. “Platforms have the ability to verify age. Do it,” he wrote.

Mr Macron’s comments come amid a wave of measures in countries around the world aimed at

curbing social media use among children

. In 2024, Australia

approved a social media ban for under-16s

after an emotive public debate, setting a benchmark for jurisdictions around the world with one of the toughest regulations targeting Big Tech.

Although most social media do not allow children under 13 to use their platforms, a report by Australia’s online safety regulator found children easily bypass such restrictions. REUTERS