France considering social media ban as devastated families launch legal action against TikTok

Stephanie Mistre holds herself together well as she walks through the bedroom that once belonged to her 15-year-old daughter, Marie.

Warning: This story details youth suicide and eating disorders.

For two years she couldn't go inside, and she won't ever come to terms with the loss of her first child.

But she has turned her unimaginable grief into a remarkable fight for justice.

"Marie was our ray of sunshine … she was the life of the party, a force of nature," Ms Mistre told 7.30.

"That's why it was all the more difficult when she left."

In 2021, Marie took her own life at the family home in France's south.

Before her death she had been flooded with content promoting self-harm, eating disorders and suicide on social media platform, TikTok.

"The algorithm is created by humans. And who are the humans who create this algorithm? It's those who created TikTok."

Is TikTok 'above the law'?

The Mistres are one of seven families in France suing the company in a landmark class action, which alleges their children were exposed to harmful content on the platform.

Two of the teenage girls took their own lives and five are still receiving treatment for severe eating disorders, with some admitted to hospital.

Aside from advocating for a ban on social media for children as Australia has done, Ms Mistre wants TikTok to regulate the content young users see on its platform.

"In fact, it undermines all the laws of the International Convention on the Protection of Children. The government also has a role to protect children."

The case has prompted the French government to act, with parliament now debating a new bill that would ban social media for children under 15 years of age.

It has passed France's lower house, the National Assembly, and is now before the Senate.

Laure Boutron-Marmion, who is leading the class action, believes suing the social media companies is the only way to force them to take responsibility for the harm they cause.

"All these companies do nothing to regulate their content. I'm really convinced that if we have some precedent, some judicial precedent, it could be different," Ms Boutron-Marmion said.

"We brought this legal action so that the judges recognise the responsibility of this application and therefore of this company in the deteriorating health of these young girls.

Australia's ban labelled 'inspiring'

Last year the French government conducted a parliamentary inquiry into the harm of social platforms.

The inquiry findings and the class action prompted the government to declare a public health emergency to fast-track the introduction of a ban.

Laure Miller, deputy of France's National Assembly, drafted the bill and watched Australia's example closely.

"I think that this law, like the Australian law, like other countries that are now committing to act in the same way, may allow us to change the balance of power," Ms Miller said.

"Today [that] is extremely unbalanced between families who feel a bit helpless and deprived of power over the ability to act on the daily lives of their children, and large platforms that spend billions of dollars both on the power of their algorithms but also by employing neuroscientists to perfect their attention-capturing systems."

If the ban was to come into place, it would impact children such as 11-year-old Kanila.

"I'm for, because … there's a lot of online harassment and there are a lot of rumours," Kanila said.

Nassim, 14, spends up to five hours a day on social media and like Kanila is torn over the idea of a ban.

"I'm rather for it because we use social media too much, like every day. Instead of going out, instead of having fun, we use social media," Nassim said.

"I have a hard time separating myself from it because it's a bit like an infinite circle.

"I'm against it because I find that it leaves young people with less freedom."

Imposing a ban has divided opinion across the globe. Australia has been both condemned and celebrated for blazing a path against the social media giants.

Debate has raged over whether cutting children off from social connection will actually work or just curtail their freedoms in the modern online world, potentially sending them underground into deeper, darker places on the web.

For some working at the forefront of the mental health crisis affecting children, the belief is something needs to change — and fast.

As a child psychiatrist of 50 years, French professor Marcel Rufo, president of the Establishment Medical Commission of the Ramsay Group, has seen first-hand the impact of social media on the children he treats.

"Cyberbullying is the number one cause of suicide attempts and, unfortunately, completed suicides that lead to the death of adolescents," Professor Rufo said.

"There is also a significant increase in eating disorders, especially anorexia and bulimia."

His research has long been studied by French governments and he recently advised former prime minister Gabriel Attal on how to tackle the problem.

"It's thanks to Australia that a number of countries are now developing an understanding of what is essentially unavoidable: how to live with social networks and digital technology."

Along with France, several other European countries, the United Kingdom and Ireland are also considering a ban, but it has divided opinion, even between families who have paid the ultimate price.

Molly saw 2,100 harmful posts before her death

Ian Russell's 14-year-old daughter, Molly, took her own life at their London home in 2017.

In the six months before her death, Molly had viewed at least 2,100 posts of harmful content.

A coronial inquest found social media contributed to her death. It was the first time such a conclusion had been delivered.

While adamant something needs to change, Mr Russell is not convinced a ban is the right answer.

"Bans have unintended consequences; they do cause people to migrate to other platforms," he said.

"They remove people from peer support groups. Some groups, particularly groups like neurodiverse people and LGBTQ people have to reach a little bit further for that support, and social media has become a support hub for them.

"It's also really hard to educate people on how to be safe online if you've banned them from digital technology," he said.

The inquest findings prompted the UK government to introduce the Online Safety Act, which includes measures such as fines and taking companies offline if they fail to block harmful content to underage users.

"It's the beginning and it's going to have to be constantly updated," Mr Russell said.

"But I think it's the best way to go long-term because it makes the companies change, whereas something like a ban takes the heat off the companies, lets them off the hook and if it penalises anyone, it penalises young people."

Five British families have also sued TikTok in a lawsuit filed in the US state of Delaware, where TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, are incorporated.

They claim TikTok failed to remove videos that encouraged their children to take part in a dangerous choking prank, which led to five teenage boys accidentally taking their own lives.

A TikTok spokesperson said it strictly prohibits content showing or promoting suicide or self-harm and that it removes more than 99 per cent of offensive content before it is reported.

It said it also directs users to support within the app. The company declined to comment on the ongoing litigation.

Marie's mother Stephanie knows the fight she's up against but she is hoping the tide is finally turning against the social media giants, as more families take them on.

"I don't know how they managed to make my girl arrive at this end. It's not normal for any child," she said.

"That's why I'm here, because I am the voice of Marie."

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