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Published on
September 11, 2025
5 min read
France Mulls Criminal Probe on TikTok as Lawmakers Push for Digital Curfew for Teens
A French parliamentary committee has recommended a social media ban for minors under the age of 15. The committee also wants a France digital curfew for teens. According to Reuters, the parliamentary committee unveiled the findings of a six-month investigation into the psychological effects of TikTok on minors and recommended a criminal probe into the video streaming company.
Recommendation for a Criminal Probe
Led by lawmaker Arthur Delaporte, the French TikTok inquiry committee recommended TikTok’s criminal probe in France. The committee chairman said he had asked for an investigation into TikTok’s role in endangering users.
“The conclusion is clear, TikTok has deliberately endangered the health and lives of its users. That is why I have decided to refer the matter to the Paris public prosecutor,” Socialist lawmaker Arthur Delaporte said.
The French parliamentary committee was established in March 2025 after a lawsuit was filed against TikTok in 2024. At the time, 7 families had accused the video-streaming platform of exposing children to content that encouraged suicide. The French lawmaker TikTok investigations were led by Laure Miller, who said other social media platforms have copied TikTok’s addictive algorithm and design.
“Of course, banning children under 15 from social media should not be the tree that hides the forest. This is one measure among many, not a panacea,” the lawmaker told MPs prior to the publication of the committee report.
In its report, the French parliamentary committee suggested an extension of the under-15 social media ban to all under-18s in the next 3 years if TikTok failed to respect EU laws.
TikTok’s Defense at the Committee Hearing
TikTok executives informed the parliamentary committee that the platform relied on AI tools to moderate content. According to the platform, the tools identified 98% of content that breached its terms of service in France in 2024.
Despite these statistics, French lawmakers found its efforts inadequate and called the platform’s terms “very easy to circumvent”. The committee also established that the app was proliferated by harmful content and that its strong algorithm hooked young users, further reinforcing the content.
“It seems to me that there are offences of a criminal nature, of active complicity, and secondly, when TikTok executives came to see us, they told us that they were unaware of anything, I believe that this also constitutes perjury,” Delaporte added.
The matter now lies with the French prosecutors. President Emmanuel Macron’s office expressed support for a social media ban for children and young adults after Australia banned social media for children below the age of 16. Major tech companies criticized the country for rushing the social media ban law.
The Senate in Australia approved the ban late on November 28, 2024 after intense public debate and a rushed process that saw the bill being brought to parliament, debated, and voted for within a week.
TikTok’s Struggle with Mental Health Allegations
TikTok faces numerous allegations of hurting the mental health of users, including children and adolescents. In 2024, the company was among the social media platforms that were sued by a Brazilian consumer rights group for failing to prevent sweeping use of their platforms by minors. In October 2024, 13 states across the US sued TikTok for mental health harm. claiming that TikTok’s practices result in adverse psychological effects among youthful users.
The company has previously said it takes issues linked to children’s mental health seriously. In recent months, the video-streaming giant started to focus on healthier engagement as it seeks to address the safety concerns raised by the public. Among the steps taken by TikTok is the unveiling of a new meditation feature to promote teen mental health and prevent late-night scrolling by users. The meditation feature came after the public expressed safety concerns on the impact of the platform on youth mental health.
