The French president had asked scientists and experts to suggest screen use guidelines for children with a view to France taking unprecedented steps on limiting their exposure.
The hard-hitting report said children needed to be protected from the tech industry’s profit-driven “strategy of capturing children’s attention, using all forms of cognitive bias to shut children away on their screens, control them, re-engage them and monetise them”.
Children were becoming “merchandise” in this new tech market, the report said, adding: “We want [the industry] to know we’ve seen what they’re doing and we won’t let them get away with it.”.
The report said a 15-year-old should be able to access only what it called “ethical” social media, such as Mastodon.
It included adults scrolling on their phones while feeding young children, or homes where a television was constantly on in the background.
The scientists said “parental controls” should not be seen as a sufficient means of protecting children.
He said screens had negative effects on children “in terms of their eyesight, their metabolism … their intelligence, concentration and cognitive processes”. »
