French MPs investigating TikTok: 'Young people are being sacrificed'
What are the psychological effects TikTok has on minors? That was the question that a French parliamentary inquiry committee, launched in March, tried to answer. After a public consultation that prompted 30,000 responses, MPs heard testimonies from more than 150 stakeholders and experts. As the hearings concluded on Tuesday, June 24, the committee's rapporteur Laure Miller (from Macron's centrist Renaissance party) and chair Arthur Delaporte (Socialist) shared their assessment of the committee's findings, ahead of the report's release, scheduled for September.
The committee aimed to examine the psychological effects TikTok has on minors. What conclusions have you drawn from this series of hearings?
Laure Miller: Despite some nuances, there are undeniable psychological effects on the youngest users, which must lead us to apply a form of precautionary principle. We cannot, on the pretext that certain young people are able to take some distance from the app, sacrifice a portion of our children who may suffer extremely harmful impacts from TikTok.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Local France
26 minutes ago
- Local France
France's Macron calls talks on New Caledonia future
New Caledonian elected officials, as well as political, economic and civil society leaders would be invited to the discussions to start on July 2nd, a source familiar with the matter said. It was not immediately clear where the meeting would be held. The French president in an invitation letter obtained by AFP said discussions would last 'as long as necessary' to address key issues 'with all the seriousness they deserve'. 'Beyond major institutional topics, I would like for our discussions to touch on economic and societal matters,' Macron added. Home to around 270,000 people and nearly 17,000 kilometres from Paris, New Caledonia is one of several overseas territories that remain an integral part of France. New Caledonia has been ruled from Paris since the 1800s, but many indigenous Kanaks resent France's power over their islands and want fuller autonomy or independence. Unrest broke out in May 2024 after Paris planned to give voting rights to thousands of non-indigenous long-term residents, which Kanaks fear would leave them in a permanent minority, crushing their chances of winning independence. The riots – the most violent since the 1980s – led to the death of 14 people and caused billions of euros of damage. The president's decision to host talks alongside the Minister for Overseas Manuel Valls also comes after a French court freed independence leader Christian Tein in June. Tein, who hails from the Kanak group, had been held in custody in eastern France since June 2024 over the rioting in the nickel-rich archipelago. Advertisement Investigating magistrates concluded there was no proof that Tein was preparing an armed uprising against the government, according to a source close to the case. The last independence referendum in New Caledonia was held in 2021, and was boycotted by pro-independence groups over the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the Kanak population. The referendum was the last of three since 2018, all of which rejected New Caledonian independence. Since the 2021 referendum – which pro-independence campaigners had requested be rescheduled – the political situation in the archipelago has been in deadlock. Valls led negotiations in May between pro-independence and anti-independence groups, but they did not 'reach an agreement about the institutional future of the territory', Macron said in the invitation letter. Earlier this month, the president declared he wanted a 'new project' for New Caledonia.
Euronews
4 hours ago
- Euronews
Former French PM Dominique de Villepin launches own political party
Former French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin has announced he is launching his own political party named Humanist France, two years before a presidential election is set to take place. "I decided to create a movement of ideas, of citizens, through the creation of a political party," de Villepin said in an interview with the daily newspaper Le Parisien on Tuesday. "This movement is for everyone. We need to unite all French people to defend social justice and the republican order," he added. De Villepin was the premier of France under the previous President Jacques Chirac between 2005 and 2007. He is perhaps best known for his impassioned 2003 speech at the UN Security Council, where he warned of the 'incalculable consequences' of France taking part in military action in Iraq. Will de Villepin run for president? More than a decade after stepping away from French politics, de Villepin has seen a recent spike in popularity after recent media appearances in which he condemned the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. The 71-year-old politician accused Western governments of turning a blind eye to what he called a "spiral of violence" and mounting civilian casualties. Recent polling indicates that de Villepin's outspoken stance on the Middle East has made him France's most popular political figure — particularly among left-wing voters. When asked about potentially running in the 2027 election, he told the French press that it wasn't time to "enter the presidential debate," although he stopped short of ruling out a future campaign. He argued that too many political parties in France were giving in to 'populism, one-upmanship and stigmatisation.' 'The French people deserve a real choice,' he told Le Parisien, adding that voters should not be forced to choose 'between the radicalism of LFI (the hard-left France Unbowed) and that of RN (the far-right National Rally).' He announced that his new party would be free to join and open to people from all political backgrounds. It is unclear who will emerge as the winner in the 2027 French presidential election. Current President Emmanuel Macron is barred from running, having served two successive terms. Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right National Rally, was banned from running this year after being found guilty of embezzling European Parliament funds. Le Pen is currently waiting for an appeals trial set to take place next year.
France 24
4 hours ago
- France 24
French pension reform talks fail as projections show deficit to keep growing
Business 05:30 From the show French Prime Minister François Bayrou will face a no-confidence vote from Socialist MPs after talks between unions and employers over a reform of the country's pension system failed to reach a compromise. France's highest auditing authority earlier showed that the pension system could run a deficit of as much as €30 billion by 2045 if nothing is changed. Also in this edition, FRANCE 24's Luke Shrago looks at the economic impact of the border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia.
