Testimony

Joint audition before the National Assembly's commission of inquiry into TikTok's psychological effects on minors

May 2025 🇫🇷 Assemblée nationale — Commission d'enquête sur les effets psychologiques de TikTok sur les mineurs

Suicide and self-harm are complex and never caused by one factor alone. Problematic screen use, cyberbullying, harmful content, and online exploitation may increase risk or intensify existing distress. If someone is in immediate danger or emotional crisis in the United States, call or text 988.

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Under oath and appearing remotely together, Amine Benyamina and Servane Mouton testified before a French National Assembly inquiry into TikTok's effects on minors, one year after their government commission's report. Mouton walked lawmakers through the physical-health case against heavy screen use — poorer sleep, sedentary behavior, and eye strain — before turning to social media's mental-health risks, describing platform design built around attention and data monetization. Benyamina described treating clinical patients, including teens, for problematic TikTok use resembling substance-addiction patterns, while noting 'screen addiction' still lacks formal recognition in psychiatric classification systems. Both argued responsibility sits primarily with platform designers, not families, and repeated their commission's proposal of a 15-year minimum for access to social media platforms judged to be ethically designed, while acknowledging that no reliable, privacy-respecting age-verification system yet exists to enforce it.

13 months of commission work behind the testimony

Benyamina described the pair's original 'Enfants et écrans' report as the product of thirteen months of commission work, informing their answers to the inquiry a year after its release.

TikTok virtual-gift revenue, ~$1.9 billion in 2023

Mouton cited an estimated $1.9 billion in 2023 revenue from TikTok's virtual-gifting features as evidence of the platform's engagement-driven monetization model.

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CITATION

Benyamina, Amine, and Servane Mouton. Joint testimony before the Assemblée nationale Commission d'enquête sur les effets psychologiques de TikTok sur les mineurs, Compte rendu n° 13, séance du 20 mai 2025.

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