Discussions about children’s digital addiction are gaining support in France, with EU lawmakers calling for regulation of addictive designs, Euractiv reports.
French delegated minister for youth Sarah El Haïry and French digital secretary of state Marina Ferrari launched a new initiative called “P@rents, let’s talk about digital” on 28 March. According to El Haïry, the initiative will offer free seminars for parents across the country to discuss topics related to children’s use of digital technologies.
The initiative followed French President Emmanuel Macron’s earlier pledge voiced on 16 January.
We will determine the proper screen use for our children, inside our families, at home as well as in class, because it concerns the future of our societies and our democracies.
On 10 January, Macron set up a new screening commission to provide expert advice on the rules to be introduced. The ten members of the commission were expected to submit their report by the end of March, but it has not yet been published. The Screens Commission is headed by Amine Benyamina, a psychiatrist specialised in the study of addiction, and Servane Mouton, a neurologist specialising in learning psychopathology.
The protection of users and children from the harms of digital technologies is also gaining momentum at the EU level. In December 2023, the European Parliament adopted a proactive report emphasising “the significant impact of addictive design on all individuals, but especially on children and adolescents.”
Dutch Greens Member of the European Parliament Kim van Sparrentak stated at the Mozilla Mornings event in mid-March that she would consider regulating addictive designs and harm to citizens online in the next parliamentary mandate (2024-2029).
Caroline Janvier and Aurore Bergé introduced a bill to prevent excessive screen exposure for children in the French National Assembly in January 2023. However, the legislation failed to gain enough support and could not move to the adoption stage.
The proposed bill addressed screen addiction among children under the age of six and aimed to educate health professionals on how to treat it. It also contained numerous prevention and education policies, including a digital information platform for parents.
Although the legislation was never passed, the digital information platform was launched by the digital secretary of state on 28 March. Ferrari used the event to influence the debate.
Former minister for education Najat Vallaud-Belkacem proposed to allocate a limited number of gigabytes for daily use.
Scarcity leads to a certain wisdom. No ministerial campaign can prevent a teenager from having their existence ruined on the internet.
The debate has been complicated by cybersecurity concerns, with almost daily reports of hacking at French educational institutions since 21 March. France’s education ministry stated on 25 March that 130 educational institutions had been subjected to cyberattacks, with hackers emailing threats of terrorist attacks to students.
As a preventative measure, the student messaging feature was disabled by an order from Education Minister Nicole Belloubet on 8 March until the hack and vulnerabilities were addressed.
