Overview
- Education Minister Édouard Geffray filed a formal referral to the justice system, a process that can expand a criminal probe, after his team’s test account set to age 14 was funneled within minutes to self-harm tutorials and suicide‑related videos.
- He said the filing cites suspected offenses that include provocation to suicide, unlawful processing of personal data, and illicit transfers of that data.
- A separate criminal inquiry by the Paris public prosecutor that began in November after a lawmaker’s referral remains open and is focused on possible promotion of suicide on the platform.
- TikTok rejected the allegations and pointed to more than 50 built‑in features it says are designed to protect teenagers’ safety and well‑being.
- Political and regulatory scrutiny is intensifying, with the Senate advancing a bill to bar social networks for under‑15s and Amnesty International submitting fresh evidence to media regulator Arcom about harmful content loops for young users.