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French President Emmanuel Macron has announced plans to advocate for EU-wide regulation to ban social media access for children under 15.
The move follows a recent fatal stabbing at a school in eastern France, which has intensified concerns about youth safety and violence.
In an interview on Tuesday, Macron expressed his urgency to address the issue, stating his aim to implement the ban within the next few months. "If that does not work, we will start to do it in France. We cannot wait," he told France 2, hours after a 14-year-old student was questioned by police over the fatal knifing of a 31-year-old school aide.
The incident occurred during a bag search for weapons at a middle school in Nogent, Haute-Marne.
Prime Minister Francois Bayrou told parliament the incident was not an isolated case. 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, Macron said such regulation was backed by experts. "Platforms have the ability to verify age. Do it," he wrote.
Macron's comments come amid a wave of measures in countries around the world aimed at curbing social media use among children.
Australia last year 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.
