French lawmakers have approved the creation of a commission of enquiry to examine the psychological effects of TikTok on children and teenagers. The video platform is particularly prized by youngsters.
The enquiry aims to determine whether the app "encourages suicidal behavior and self-harm" or if it "amplifies" the availability of hypersexualised content, which could "contribute to the development of disorders", said centrist lawmaker Laure Miller, who brought the proposal before parliament.
"TikTok has more than 15 million monthly users in France," said Miller, adding that while the social network is officially prohibited for the under-13s, many children aged 12 and younger have accounts.
She also argued that TikTok has "the most opaque and probably the least effective content moderation policy" of all social platforms.
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'Dopamine slot machine'
The resolution to create the commission received cross party support in a vote on Thursday evening in the National Assembly, although only 23 MP were present.
"TikTok is a dopamine slot machine," said Socialist lawmaker Arthur Delaporte.
In November, seven families filed a joint legal complaint against TikTok in France, accusing the video platform of exposing their teenage children to content about suicide, self-harm, eating disorders and other mental health problems.
Parents in France take TikTok to court over self-harm content aimed at children
While the commission will not be able to investigate ongoing cases, it will look into whether or not the app proposes more dangerous content to vulnerable groups.
In 2022, a US study suggested that young users who expressed distress on the platform were shown, on average, twelve times more videos related to suicide and self-harm.
Last February, the European Union opened an investigation into whether TikTok does enough to protect minors.
On Tuesday, TikTok rolled out a new feature across the EU allowing parents to limit the time teenagers spend on the app.
Ahead of France's decision to set up a commission of inquiry, the company said the issues targeted by the commission were "not unique to TikTok".
