France introduces anti-bullying app and mandatory parental control setting on children’s technology News
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France introduces anti-bullying app and mandatory parental control setting on children’s technology

France will introduce a new anti-bullying app to stop school bullying and increase parental control, in an announcement made by President Emmanual Macron Thursday.

The legislation was proposed by MPs and supported by Macron on Twitter. He announced that the change in the law would include parental controls on all technology used by children, including smartphones and tablets. This change would be a default setting for these devices moving forward. He also acknowledged that bullying is no longer limited to in-school activities but also continues on social media.

France has already introduced a hotline where victims can call 3020 for harassment and 3018 for cyberbullying. This proposal would allow victims also to screenshot cyberbullying to provide evidence they can use when reporting harassment. With the support of the legislation, the implication will force manufacturers to activate parental control settings so that it is pre-installed upon purchase.

The National Frequency Agency (NFA) will regulate and enforce the new legislation. The organization supervises the “placing of equipment on the market” with the goal of implementing the new policy in 2022.