The chairman of a French parliamentary committee inve
stigating TikTok’s psychological effects on minors said on Thursday that he had asked for a criminal probe into TikTok’s
possible responsibility for “endangering the lives” of its young users.
The committee, launched in March, unveiled its findings and recommendations on Thursday.
“The conclusion is clear: TikTok has deliberately endangered the h
ealth and lives of its users. That is why I have decided to refer the matt
er to the Paris public prosecutor,” Socialist lawmaker Arthur Delaporte told broadcaster franceinfo.
“It seems to me that there are offenses 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… and I believe that this also constitutes perjury,” he added.
It is now up to the prosecutor to decide whether or not to open a probe.
TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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The company has previously said it took issues linked to children’s mental health seriously.
The parliamentary committee was initially set up to examine TikTok and its psychological effects on young peopl
e after a 2024 lawsuit ag
ainst the platform by seven families who accused it of exposing their children to content pushing them to commit suicide.
It recommended that children under 15 be banned from using social media while those aged between 15 and 1
8 would face a nighttime curfew, meaning social media would be made una
vailable to them between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m.
TikTok, like other social media platforms, has long faced scrutiny
over its policing of content on its app. Several countries, including Australia
and some in Europe, have taken or are considering measures to curb social media use among children.
French President Emmanuel Macron said in June he would push
for European Union regulation to ban social media for under-15s aft
er a fatal stabbing at a school in eastern France.
(Reporting by Dominique Vidalon and Mathias de Rozario and Juliette
Jabkhiro; Editing by Makini Brice and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)