{"id":741499,"date":"2026-02-04T09:57:12","date_gmt":"2026-02-04T09:57:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/741499\/"},"modified":"2026-02-04T09:57:12","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T09:57:12","slug":"france-and-spain-move-to-ban-social-media-for-children-under-16-evangelical-focus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/741499\/","title":{"rendered":"France and Spain move to ban social media for children under 16, Evangelical Focus"},"content":{"rendered":"

The use of social media<\/a> by children and adolescents is an ongoing concern for European institutions, governments across Europe and society in general.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Last July, the European Commission unveiled guidelines for online platforms and social media on how to protect minors<\/a> online, as well as a prototype age verification<\/a> app, under the EU\u2019s Digital Services Act (DSA).<\/p>\n

Those guidelines cover a wide range of child safeguarding issues, including addictive design, harmful and inappropriate content, unwanted contact from strangers and cyberbullying.<\/p>\n

All Evangelical Focus news and opinion,\u00a0on your WhatsApp<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Commission stated that it expected all its members to implement those measures.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

France<\/a> is the first European country to introduce measures regarding the access of minors<\/a> to social media.<\/p>\n

The French National Assembly recently passed a bill banning social media use by under-15s, with a large majority of 130 votes in favour and 21 against.<\/p>\n

The bill now has to go to the Senate before becoming law.<\/p>\n

Former prime minister Gabriel Attal, who leads Macron\u2019s party in the National Assembly, explained that \u201csocial media platforms will then have until 31 December to deactivate existing accounts that do not comply with the age limit\u201d.<\/p>\n

He also hoped \u201cthe Senate would pass the bill by mid-February so that the ban could come into force on 1 September\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

For French President Emmanuel Macron<\/a>, the measure is \u201ca major step forward\u201d, and \u201cwhat scientists recommend, and what the French people overwhelmingly demand\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur children’s brains are not for sale, neither to American platforms nor to Chinese networks. Their dreams should not be dictated by algorithms<\/a>. We do not want an anxious generation, but a generation that believes in France, the Republic and its values\u201d, he added on X.<\/p>\n

He pointed out that \u201cto ensure that this ban comes into effect at the start of the next school year, I have asked the government to fast-track the procedure\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrance continues to lead the way today by becoming the first country in Europe to take this step. On 1 September, our children and teenagers will finally be protected. I will make sure of it\u201d, concluded Macron.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Interdire les r\u00e9seaux sociaux aux moins de 15 ans\u00a0: c\u2019est ce que pr\u00e9conisent les scientifiques, c\u2019est ce que demandent massivement les Fran\u00e7ais.<\/p>\n

Apr\u00e8s un travail fructueux avec le Gouvernement, l\u2019Assembl\u00e9e nationale vient de dire oui.<\/p>\n

C\u2019est une \u00e9tape majeure.\u2026<\/p>\n


\n\u2014 Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) January 26, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Spain<\/a> will also ban social media for under 16s, as Spanish President Pedro S\u00e1nchez<\/a> announced at the World Government Summit in Dubai.<\/p>\n

Online platforms will also be required to implement effective age verification systems,\u201cnot just check boxes, but real barriers that work\u201d, said S\u00e1nchez.<\/p>\n

\u201cSocial media has become a lawless place where crimes are tolerated, misinformation<\/a> is valued over truth and half of users suffer hate attacks\u201d, he added.<\/p>\n

Spain\u2019s ban is part of a wider package of measures<\/a>, that will include a proposal to hold social media executives legally accountable for illegal and hate content on their platforms, as well as to criminalise algorithmic manipulation.<\/p>\n

The Spanish president also urged the Public Prosecutor’s Office to investigate crimes committed by Grok (X’s Artificial Intelligence), Meta, and TikTok. \u201cWe will defend our digital sovereignty against any foreign interference\u201d, he warned.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur children are exposed to a space they were never meant to navigate alone, a space of addiction, abuse<\/a>, pornography<\/a>, manipulation and violence. We will no longer accept that. We will protect them from the digital Wild West\u201d, concluded S\u00e1nchez.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Spain and France join other EU<\/a> countries, such as Denmark, Greece and Italy, in working to implement stronger controls and bans on social media platforms with the aim of protecting children.<\/p>\n

The European Commission’s prototype age verification app is currently being tested in these five countries.<\/p>\n

In Germany<\/a>, both adults and adolescents \u201cperceive clear negative effects of social media use on children and young people: 77 percent of adults and 61 percent of young people believe that social media has a negative impact on mental health\u201d, explains the ifo\u00a0report<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The survey also shows that 85% of adults and 47% of young people believe that it should only be legal to create a social media account from the age of 16.<\/p>\n

Outside Europe, last December\u00a0Australia<\/a> became the world’s first country to ban social media for children under 16.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

While acknowledging the many benefits of internet use, experts also warn of the problems it brings, especially regarding social media.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe adolescent brain is not equipped to handle as much information as they receive on a daily basis. Many spend hours looking at and coveting an \u2018ideal self\u2019 that doesn\u2019t really exist and end up feeling anxiety, disappointment and depression\u201d, said D\u00e1maris Garc\u00eda Medina, a Spanish Chridtian psychologist, who regularly works with children and adolescents, in an interview<\/a> with Evangelical Focus.<\/p>\n

Francisco Villar, Christian researcher and author of the book Sin pantallas, pienso y siento mejor (Without screens, I think and feel better, 2024), warn that digital consumption \u201cleads to less tolerance to frustration and less empathy, which makes life difficult for children in an age in which they need to exercise basic social skills\u201d.<\/p>\n

The author\u2019s position is radical: no smartphones for those under the age of 18.<\/p>\n

In Europe, Christians have launched projects to\u00a0reinforce training and the proper use of social media<\/a>\u00a0in several countries.<\/p>\n

Christian \u2018influencers\u2019 meet regularly in countries such as\u00a0Germany<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0France<\/a>\u00a0to share their experiences and seek healthy use of technological tools.<\/p>\n

\n Published in: Evangelical Focus<\/a> – europe<\/a>
\n – France and Spain move to ban social media for children under 16\n <\/p>\n