French children under 15 should be banned from social media and there should be an overnight 'digital curfew' for 15-18 year olds, a parliamentary commission has recommended.

The six-month inquiry into the psychological effects of TikTok on minors has found that the short video-sharing platform 'knowingly exposes our children, our young people to toxic, dangerous and addictive content'.

'We must force TikTok to rethink its model,' says the commission, which heard testimony from teenagers and the families of young victims.

TikTok responded saying it categorically rejected the commission's 'misleading characterisation of our platform' which sought to 'scapegoat our company on industry-wide and societal challenges'.

TikTok has an ongoing robust trust and safety programme with more than 70 features and settings designed specifically to support the safety and well-being of teens and families on our platform, a spokesperson said.

The commission describes TikTok as one of the worst social media platforms, calling it 'a production line of distress' for young people. It argues TikTok has failed to take sufficient action to reduce teenagers being exposed to a 'spiral of harmful content'.

The recommendations of the French parliamentary inquiry come hard on the heels of an Australian social media ban for children under the age of 16, which comes into force on 10 December.

Among the 43 recommendations aimed at getting French children 'out of the TikTok trap' are:

  • A ban on social media for under-15s
  • No use of the apps overnight from 22:00-08:00 to prevent overnight scrolling
  • A ban on mobile phones in school
  • A proposed crime of digital negligence for parents who fail to protect their children

French inquiry lead author Laure Miller explained that the idea of a digital negligence offense was an extension of existing law: 'If a six-year-old child spends seven hours a day in front of TikTok, we can ask ourselves the question: are their safety and morality really protected by their parents?'

As European countries push for limitations on children's social media use, the inquiry chairman Arthur Delaporte decided to refer allegations against TikTok to the Paris public prosecutor.