French authorities are planning to restrict teenagers’ access to social media and tighten age controls for buying knives and visiting adult websites. These measures came under discussion after another incident of youth violence. The French government believes social media has a negative impact on young people.
On June 12, 2025, the authors of the Shkvarka News Telegram channel published a post on the subject but cited different reasons for the possible restrictions on French teenagers.
“Macron is ready to ban kids from social media because ‘Russian propaganda’ is making them sympathize with Russia,” the channel’s authors wrote, attaching what they claimed were French newspaper covers featuring matching headlines.
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The front page bearing the logo of one of the country’s biggest newspapers, Libération, read: “A generation raised on Russian propaganda already threatens France’s democracy.” A mock cover featuring the La Croix masthead stated: “French children believe Putin.”
Both covers displayed issue dates of June 11, 2025. The WTF team checked the official websites of these publications for that date. Libération’s front page featured a story about a teacher killed by a teenager, while La Croix covered the standoff between Donald Trump and American judges. We also found nothing resembling the headlines promoted by Shkvarka News in the archives of other editions.
France isn’t the only country considering ways to protect children from unsafe online content. Similar measures are being discussed in Greece, Spain and the United Kingdom. In some countries, parental consent is required to use social media: in the United States up to age 13, in Italy up to 14, and in Germany up to 16, though these rules are not always enforced. In Australia, a law setting a minimum age of 16 for social media use, regardless of parental approval, will take effect at the end of 2025.
A few weeks ago, the European Union did impose sanctions against those spreading Russian propaganda and disinformation within the EU. But any connection to the French initiatives is most likely coincidental.
