Touched but not defeated. Even if the Constitutional Council rejected, on Friday August 14, the ban on social networks for those under 15, Emmanuel Macron wishes to be able to pass a new law on the subject before the end of his second five-year term. He instructed the Prime Minister, Sébastien Lecornu, to “work on a legally robust draft taking into account the decision of the Constitutional Council as well as the European framework”.
It will first be necessary to find a place in a parliamentary calendar which promises to be busy from October, with budgetary discussions, before giving way to the presidential campaign at the end of February. “Temporally it is possible, especially since there is pressure behind the President of the Republic since it is a promise that he wants to keep by the end of his mandate,” judges constitutionalist John Christopher-Rolland on franceinfo. “Will we still arrive at a text that can pass censorship? Nothing is less certain,” continues the lecturer at the University of Nanterre.
A ban only for certain platforms?
So what are the avenues to avoid another failure with the Constitutional Council? In their decision, the Sages consider “that the contested provisions infringe on freedom [of expression] which is not adapted, necessary and proportionate to the objective pursued”.
A quick solution consists of resuming the text as it was voted on in the Senate. The High Assembly, considering that a general ban risked being censored, proposed a two-tier system, with a "black list" of platforms subject to a total ban within 15 years, and others accessible with parental consent. “Until the end, I warned about the constitutional risk,” testifies Catherine Morin-Desailly, centrist senator from Seine-Maritime on franceinfo, rapporteur of the bill aimed at protecting minors from the risks linked to screens.
“We wasted a lot of time. If we had listened to the Senate from the outset, we would have a system that was both constitutional and respectful of European law.”
Catherine Morin-Desailly, centrist senator
at franceinfo
“For me, it’s a waste, we managed a horizon of waiting among parents who can only be disappointed,” socialist Arthur Delaporte declared on franceinfo on Saturday. The Calvados MP considers that “the real priority today is the control of the platforms”. “Prohibiting young people from everything makes no sense, to the extent that it will necessarily be circumvented. It is better to limit toxic uses and above all impose obligations on platforms,” recommends Catherine Morin-Desailly.
A decision at European level
But can a national text be enough? “The Council notes that it was necessary to distinguish networks according to their content or their functions. But the law already did so,” estimates constitutionalist Benjamin Morel in a text published on “However, these obligations imposed on platforms come under the DSA”, the Digital Services Act, European regulation on digital services, “and therefore under Union law”, adds the specialist, for whom “even a blacklist based on network functionalities comes up against this barrier”.
“We must now find, taking into account this decision and the European framework, the legal path which will make it possible to implement” the protection of children, underlines the Minister Delegate in charge of Artificial Intelligence and digital technology, Anne Le Hénanff sur Emmanuel Macron's entourage at franceinfo.
At the beginning of July, the European Commission advised France to review its text, judging that it could encroach on the provisions of the Digital Services Act. However, they can be an ally of the French head of state. Brussels, for its part, is considering the opportunity to establish a digital majority. The President of the European Commission estimated on July 13 that it was necessary to “consider progressive and graduated access for different age groups to social networks”. Ursula von der Leyen pledged to make proposals “after the summer”.
“It would be legitimate to question the population”
Does Emmanuel Macron, however, have the time to comply with the slow progress of European procedures? While this ban on social networks is the flagship promise of his end of his double five-year term, can the tenant of the Elysée go through a referendum to implement it? The press release published by the Elysée following the decision of the Constitutional Council leaves open the field of possibilities. “It will be up to the President of the Republic, the government and Parliament to determine the ways and means to protect our children from social networks by the end of the mandate,” it is written.
“Emmanuel Macron has been promising referendums for three years and each time, he cannot because it is complicated to do it politically,” judges the socialist deputy Arthur Delaporte, doubtfully. “It would be legitimate to question the population,” says Franceinfo Laure Miller, Ensemble MP for the Republic of Marne at the origin of the bill. But she concedes “that we would come up against the same constitutional issues again”.
