France’s top court blocks under-15 social media ban, citing constitutional freedoms
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Digital Subscription
One year of digital access for only $205*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
PARIS (AP) — A top court in France on Friday struck down a law banning children under 15 from using social media, saying it infringes on fundamental freedoms.
The Constitutional Council ruled that provisions in the ban “disproportionately infringe freedom of expression and communication” and haven’t provided legal guarantees to ensure those rights, according to a press release summarizing the decision.
France last month became the first country in the European Union to pass a blanket ban on the platforms amid rising worldwide concerns about the harmful effects of digital content on kids.
Both chambers of the Parliament had voted in favor of the measure, which also banned the use of mobile phones in high schools.
The legislation was one of the final major measures adopted under French President Emmanuel Macron’s presidency before he leaves office next year. Macron wanted the law to take effect at the start of the new school year in September, but the bill faced a review to determine whether it complied with the French Constitution.
Responding to the decision, Macron said in a statement that he was fully determined to see the ban take effect by spring and has tasked Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu “with working as quickly as possible on a legally robust proposal that takes into account the decision of the Constitutional Council as well as the European legal framework.”
“On this basis, it will be up to the President of the Republic, the Government, and Parliament to determine the means and mechanisms needed to protect our children from social media by the end of the current term of office,” he added.
