On March 2, 2022, following a fast-track legislative process in the French National Assembly and Senate, President Macron of France signed into law a new piece of legislation designed to reinforce parental controls over minors’ access to the Internet (the “Law”) (see final text of the Law published in the Official Journal here, in French).
The Law will apply primarily to manufacturers of devices that enable minors to access online services and content “likely to harm [their] physical, mental or moral development” (e.g., computers, smart phones, and tablets). The Law – which extends only to devices sold with an operating system (e.g., PCs, mobile phones, tablets, smart TVs) – requires manufacturers of such devices to provide a pre-installed parental control system which can be activated by parents or guardians upon first use. The installation, use, and (where applicable) uninstallation the system must be provided to end users at no additional cost.