Berlin, Nov. 20 -- French President Emmanuel Macron has warned about the growing influence of major social media platforms over young people, urging Europe to rapidly tighten digital regulation to protect teenagers and uphold democratic norms.
Speaking Tuesday at the European Digital Sovereignty Summit in Berlin, Macron said European teenagers now spend "four to five hours per day" on social networks, where much of what they see is shaped by opaque algorithms run by a handful of global tech giants.
This concentration of influence, he argued, exposes young people to "hyper-bullying, pornography, mental-health issues and other harmful content," while governments have effectively outsourced responsibility for children's online safety to fore...