While Michou, the YouTube and social media star, has just split from Elsa Bois, a dancer on the show Danse Avec Les Stars on TF1, the 23-year-old will be heard at the National Assembly.
Michou at the National Assembly to talk about TikTok
TikTok is a social network particularly popular with children and teenagers, especially in France. However, the app's algorithm is more than controversial. The social media platform has been accused of promoting videos about suicide, self-harm, and hypersexualization among young users. This is why MPs have decided to open a commission of inquiry at the National Assembly to address this issue. For six months, thirty MPs will study TikTok's algorithm and uncover the psychological repercussions on children. To this end, we have learned that YouTuber Michou will be heard as part of this parliamentary commission of inquiry. The influential Manon Tanti will also participate.
It must be said that these two web personalities are particularly familiar with the application and are in contact with young people. The latter also spend more time on TikTok than on Instagram. According to figures from Médiamétrie, 11-17 year-olds spend 1 hour and 28 minutes a day on the platform belonging to the Chinese group ByteDance, compared to 46 minutes for Meta's social network. In addition, one in two children aged 11-12 is registered on TikTok, even though, theoretically, a minimum age of 13 is required to create an account.
Michou will therefore have to provide his expertise to the deputies of the committee on the psychological effects of TikTok on minors. As a reminder, last November, seven families took the platform to court. They accused the network of having exposed their children to content that could give them the idea of committing suicide. According to an American study published in 2022, young people registered on TikTok who were in a situation of distress received twelve times more videos talking about suicide and self-harm.
TikTok in the sights of many countries around the world
France is not the only country in the world to have TikTok in its sights. In Australia, a law has been voted to ban access to the social network for young people under 16 in November 2024. Albania decided to block the app in the country after a 14-year-old boy died in a fight following a social media dispute. Venezuela fined TikTok a record €9.6 million for failing to police online challenges after the deaths of three teenagers. For its part, the social network deployed in France and the European Union an option allowing parents to limit their children's TikTok usage time.
After these hearings, French parliamentarians will have to find legal levers to act on this issue.
0 Comments