Drawing on European legislation, but determined to go further, the members of the committee of inquiry into TikTok proposed on Thursday an unprecedented arsenal to regulate the use of TikTok by minors and put pressure on the platform.

TikTok, owned by the Chinese group ByteDance, "knowingly exposes our children and young people to toxic, dangerous, and addictive content." This is what Socialist Party MP Arthur Delaporte wrote in the foreword to the report from the commission of inquiry he chaired into the psychological effects of TikTok on minors.

"We absolutely must act quickly," said Renaissance MP and rapporteur Laure Miller. The report was presented on Thursday, September 11, at a press conference at the National Assembly.

It is the result of nearly 100 hours of hearings with experts, stakeholders, and witnesses, and the review of tens of thousands of responses as part of a citizen consultation. This report, which highlights the "devastating effects" of TikTok on young people's mental health, aims to "raise massive awareness" and quickly translate it into "political action."

Among the key measures: a ban on social media for those under 15, a "digital curfew" for 15- to 18-year-olds, and the creation of a crime of "digital negligence" for parents.

On Thursday, Arthur Delaporte announced that he had filed a complaint with the Paris public prosecutor for "endangering" the lives of users.

"TikTok cannot ignore the fact that they are putting tens of millions of young people, if not hundreds of millions of young people around the world, at risk," he said at the press conference.

TikTok Commission of Inquiry: @ArthurDelaporte explains why he took legal action for "endangering the lives" of users. "TikTok cannot be unaware that they are endangering tens of millions of young people around the world," the elected official maintains. #DirectAN pic.twitter.com/4lY9ksra1H

— LCP (@LCP) September 11, 2025

Behind the warning message, the report is based on figures and testimonies that paint a worrying picture of the daily digital lives of adolescents.

Algorithmic bubbles and dangerous content

Designed to capture attention, TikTok's algorithm massively exposes teenagers to sensitive content.

Some 41% of young users aged 11 to 14 report having been exposed to pornographic images and 47% to violent scenes, according to the citizen consultation carried out as part of the survey.

Even more worrying, the recommendation system locks minors into veritable "filter bubbles," reinforcing certain potentially dangerous tendencies.

TikTok Commission of Inquiry: "We have seen an ocean of harmful content, which attracts a large audience: promotion of suicide, self-harm, eating disorders," "exposure to violence," "racism, anti-Semitism, pedophilia," reports @Laure_Miller. pic.twitter.com/QVT4sKvgJE

— LCP (@LCP) September 11, 2025

One expert pointed out that after only five to six hours spent on the app, nearly one in two videos was related to mental health and potentially harmful. These factors, according to the commission, justify a legislative and technical response proportionate to the scale of the risk.

The rapporteurs note that TikTok does not base its decision on what users like, but on what they "stay on the longest," which results in highlighting "the most trashy content."

"These systems highlight the most virulent, divisive, and harmful content, because this is the most likely to ensure user engagement," explains Anne Savinel-Barras, president of Amnesty International France.

"TikTok's primary motivation is not the well-being of its users; its sole purpose is profit.

This aggressive business strategy, devoid of ethical considerations for the health and well-being of users, transforms these platforms into tools of almost uncontrollable power.

– Servane Mouton, neurologist and neurophysiologist, co-chair of the expert commission on the impact of young people’s exposure to screens.

In 2024, a CIDJ / Ifop survey also revealed that 65% of young people questioned said they felt a form of addiction to their smartphone.

"Just because some teens are living a good life on social media, should we sacrifice all the other teens who find themselves trapped by the effects of the algorithm?" Laure Miller asked the National Assembly on Thursday. "The answer is no."

The deputies are thus putting forward a series of proposals, unprecedented in Europe, intended to regain control over the regulation of digital technology.

Minimum age, curfew, offense of "digital negligence"

Ban social media for under-15s

While, according to a study by the e-Enfance association, "65% of children aged 6 to 8 are registered on social networks", Laure Miller raises the need to prohibit access to social networks for children under 15, except for the use of messaging.

France has already implemented strict age verification rules for pornographic sites, which has led platforms such as Pornhub to block access to French users.

A digital curfew

The committee of inquiry's proposal to make networks inaccessible between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m. for 15- to 18-year-olds is a first in Europe. To date, no other member state has considered such a strict time restriction.

"Young people themselves think it might be a good idea," says Miller, adding that they themselves say they want to address their social media addiction, sleep disorders, and the resulting loss of attention.

Responsibility of parents and school

Believing it essential that everyone "take responsibility", the rapporteur goes so far as to put forward for consideration the idea of a parental "digital negligence offence" within three years, imagining in the meantime setting up a "massive information campaign" intended to fill in the gaps parents have in their knowledge.

"Serious breaches" in this area could be punished by two years' imprisonment and a fine of €30,000, the report suggests. This could involve transposing the concept of educational deficiency or endangerment by omission into the digital domain.

TikTok Commission of Inquiry: @Laure_Miller wants to "create an electroshock" by creating "a crime of digital parental negligence". #DirectAN pic.twitter.com/63o70LuoOg

— LCP (@LCP) September 11, 2025

Laure Miller did not fail to mention other key players, such as educational staff.

"National Education needs to be made aware," she points out, listing the many daily uses of social media by the education system, and more broadly, screens: homework to be consulted on software, exclusively digital books in certain establishments, discussion loops on social media, WhatsApp or Telegram...

"We must be able to extend the digital break to [study time], and ask ourselves the question of a form of digital decline within national education."

"Taking back control in national law"

It remains to be seen how far France can go in this fight. While a framework already exists at the European level, the rapporteurs believe that more must be done, and quickly.

The "DSA" (European Digital Services Regulation) imposes obligations on platforms regarding moderation, age verification, and transparency of algorithms.

While Laure Miller welcomes this legislative arsenal, she calls for "not being satisfied with what is done in the EU, and for regaining control over the lives of our young people in France."

A digital majority law, adopted in summer 2023 in France, already provides for parental authorization for children under 15 to access social media. But this law has not yet come into force, in part due to a lack of clarity regarding its compatibility with European law.

"This summer, the European Commission – under pressure from France in particular – opened up the possibility for national law [to legislate on a minimum age for accessing social networks], explains the rapporteur, emphasizing the "window of opportunity" that French parliamentarians now have.

According to her, this coincides with the arrival, next spring, of test software provided to France by the European Commission in order to verify the age of users, via "a certified and reliable double anonymity system".

Preventive measures that, according to the report, must be accompanied by tougher sanctions against platforms. With much stricter and more systematic enforcement than what the DSA provides for – fines of up to 6% of global turnover in the event of serious violations.

Putting pressure on the platforms

The responsibility of digital giants remains a central concern. The commission therefore emphasizes the need to force platforms to change their practices.

With a 26% drop in French-speaking moderators on TikTok in one year, this is a crucial issue.

"A colossal amount of work is being done by trusted flaggers, but they are "emptying the ocean with a slotted spoon," says Laure Miller, deeming it essential to strengthen local teams, capable of quickly identifying and removing sensitive content, and to "regulate their working conditions."

Between citizen pressure, the European framework and the balance of political power in the National Assembly, the future of these measures will depend on the ability of the government and the deputies to transform the alert into law.

"In a complicated political phase, with a fragmented Assembly, this is a subject that can bring us together," believes Laure Miller.

But between the health emergency highlighted by the commission and the slowness of the political machinery, the risk is clear: that the lost time will benefit algorithms more than adolescents.