French President Emmanuel Macron has fast-tracked plans to ban children under 15 from using social media, signaling a growing international trend in regulating digital access for minors amid mounting concerns about mental health, online safety, and the influence of global tech platforms.

In a video released Saturday by BFM-TV, Macron said he instructed his government to initiate an accelerated legislative procedure so that the bill could pass the Senate in time to take effect with the start of the new school year in September.

“The brains of our children and our teenagers are not for sale,” he said. “The emotions of our children and our teenagers are not for sale or to be manipulated. Neither by American platforms, nor by Chinese algorithms.”

The move comes as French health authorities continue to warn about the dangers of excessive smartphone use. According to the National Agency for Food, Environmental, and Occupational Health and Safety (ANSES), half of French teenagers spend between two and five hours a day on their devices. Nearly 90% of young people aged 12 to 17 access the internet every day via smartphones, and 58% use social networks regularly.

The agency’s December report highlighted the harmful effects of social media exposure, including lower self-esteem, higher anxiety, and increased vulnerability to content linked to self-harm, drug use, and suicide. Several French families have lodged complaints against TikTok, alleging that the platform’s algorithms contributed to teen suicides.

Macron emphasized that the legislation will create clear and enforceable rules: “We’re banning social networks for under-15s and we’re going to ban mobile phones in our high schools. Clear for our teenagers, clear for families, clear for teachers, and we are moving forward,” he said.

The bill, set for public examination on Monday, aims both to restrict social media use for minors under 15 and to enforce tighter mobile phone regulations in secondary schools.

France is not alone in exploring such measures. The United Kingdom recently signaled it is considering restricting social media access for young teenagers as part of broader online safety reforms. European policymakers are increasingly framing social media restrictions as a public health and child protection issue, rather than solely a technology regulation matter.

Australia’s experience has served as a reference point for France and other countries. Since imposing a ban on children under 16 from accessing social media platforms, Australian authorities have deactivated approximately 4.7 million accounts identified as belonging to minors. The policy has triggered debates over privacy, age verification, mental health, and digital rights, yet officials cite measurable improvements in youth well-being and engagement patterns as evidence of its effectiveness.

The apparent success of Australia’s approach has catalyzed similar initiatives in Europe, creating a wave of social media regulation aimed at safeguarding children in the digital age.

Experts note that France’s proposed law also fits into the broader European strategy of asserting sovereignty over digital platforms. Macron framed the bill in terms of protecting citizens from foreign algorithms and the commercial exploitation of young users, aligning with EU-wide efforts to regulate technology, including the Digital Services Act. By emphasizing local rules and ethical considerations, France seeks to establish a model of child-centered regulation that other countries may emulate.

Implementation challenges remain, including robust age verification, enforcement mechanisms, and potential legal challenges over privacy and digital rights. Nonetheless, policymakers in France are moving decisively, reflecting a growing consensus that unrestricted social media access for teenagers is increasingly incompatible with public health and education priorities.

With the French bill poised to take effect in September, the global trend toward social media restrictions for teens is accelerating. From Australia to Europe, governments are re-evaluating the balance between digital freedom and child protection, suggesting that Macron’s push may not only reshape France’s schools but also contribute to a broader international shift in how societies regulate youth access to technology.

Nike is accelerating a sweeping overhaul of its supply chain, cutting 775 jobs across its U.S. distribution network as it leans more heavily on automation and advanced technology to revive margins and restore growth.

The latest layoffs, centered on large warehouses in Tennessee and Mississippi, deepen a workforce reduction that has become a defining feature of the company’s turnaround under CEO Elliott Hill.

The job cuts, first reported by CNBC, come in addition to the 1,000 corporate roles Nike eliminated last summer. Together, they point to a company retrenching after several years of slowing sales, rising costs, and a strategy shift that left parts of its logistics operation larger and more expensive than current demand can support.

In a statement, Nike said the layoffs primarily affect its U.S. distribution operations and are aimed at “reducing complexity” while building a more flexible and efficient business. The company said it is sharpening its supply chain footprint, expanding the use of automation, and investing in new skills to better serve consumers and athletes.

Behind that explanation lies a deeper strategic reset. Under former CEO John Donahoe, Nike aggressively pursued a direct-to-consumer strategy, prioritizing its own stores and digital platforms over wholesale partners. That approach drove heavy investment in distribution centers and staffing to handle higher volumes shipped directly to customers. As growth cooled and wholesale relationships weakened, those facilities were left with excess capacity.

People familiar with the matter say current volumes no longer justify the staffing levels built up during that period.

Hill, who took over as Nike grappled with shrinking margins and uneven demand, has moved quickly to reverse course. His strategy has focused on repairing ties with wholesale partners, clearing stale inventory, tightening spending, and reigniting product innovation. Distribution and logistics, once scaled for rapid direct sales growth, are now being streamlined to fit a leaner model.

Financial pressure has sharpened the urgency of those moves. When Nike reported earnings for its fiscal second quarter in December, the company said net income had fallen 32%. Management pointed to tariffs, turnaround-related costs, and a slowdown in China, one of Nike’s most important markets. Improving margins has become a central goal, and automation is increasingly seen as a key lever.

While Nike has not detailed the specific technologies being rolled out, its language signals a broader shift toward automated picking, sorting, and inventory management systems that can reduce reliance on human labor. It remains unclear how many total U.S. distribution jobs Nike employs, or how many roles could eventually be affected as automation expands further across its network.

Nike’s actions also sit within a much wider corporate trend. Across retail, logistics, and manufacturing, large employers are cutting warehouse and fulfillment roles as artificial intelligence and robotics move from pilot projects to core operations. Distribution centers, with their repetitive and process-driven tasks, are often at the front line of this transition.

UPS offered one of the clearest examples last year when it announced plans to cut 48,000 jobs, citing increased automation across its facilities. Amazon has steadily deployed robots and AI-driven systems in its warehouses, allowing it to process more orders with fewer workers per unit. Walmart and Target have invested billions of dollars in automated fulfillment centers designed to lower labor costs and speed up delivery times.

For workers and local economies, the shift carries real consequences. Distribution centers are major employers in many regions, particularly in the U.S. South, where states such as Tennessee and Mississippi have attracted logistics hubs with tax incentives and promises of stable jobs. As automation accelerates, those employment bases are becoming less secure, even as companies maintain or expand physical infrastructure.

But the challenge goes beyond cost-cutting for Nike. Automation can deliver efficiency and speed, but it also requires significant upfront investment and careful execution. A misstep could leave the company with expensive systems that fail to deliver expected savings or flexibility if demand patterns change again.

For now, management appears committed to pushing ahead. The 775 job cuts signal that Nike’s turnaround will involve difficult trade-offs, particularly for workers caught in the shift. They also underscore how deeply automation is reshaping corporate America’s supply chains, as even one of the world’s most powerful consumer brands retools its operations for a future that demands leaner costs, faster response times, and fewer hands on the warehouse floor.