🔍 Read the full analysis: France’s 18 Suggestions For Testing Chatbots Before They Launch on ThorstenMeyerAI.com
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TL;DR
A French expert commission delivered 18 recommendations on AI assistants to President Emmanuel Macron’s office on November 10, including priority proposals for evaluating consumer chatbots before they reach the European market and checking them again after launch. The proposals also address design that may foster dependence, safeguards for minors, undisclosed advertising and users’ rights over personal inferences. They are recommendations, not law, and no bill or implementation timeline had been identified as of November 11.
A French expert commission delivered an 18-recommendation report on AI assistants to President Emmanuel Macron’s office on November 10, proposing that consumer chatbots be evaluated before entering the European market and checked regularly after launch. The proposals, which include nine priorities, are not law; as of November 11, no bill or implementation timeline had been identified.
The report, titled Protect without preventing: vulnerabilities in the age of generative AI, says consumer AI systems should reach the European market only after an evaluation shows they “neither exploit nor aggravate the vulnerabilities of their users.” It proposes further checks at intervals, after substantial model changes and when alerts are raised. The report gives 12 to 24 months as an example interval, rather than setting a fixed schedule in law. If a provider fails an evaluation, the report says withdrawing the system from the market “could be considered.”
The recommendations cover chatbots, AI companions and AI-enabled toys. The Élysée says the central proposal concerns consumer systems, not professional ones. Other proposals include restricting design that flatters users or makes an AI seem human, stronger protections for minors, a ban on undisclosed commercial influence in AI answers, and rights for users concerning information a chatbot infers about them. AI toys would require prior approval under one proposal.
The commission says services open to minors should either apply protective measures to all users or use robust age verification. Suggested protections include an easily visible way to end a conversation, time limits on by default for minors, no persistent conversation memory by default, and human-like features disabled unless a parent agrees. These are recommendations in the report, not requirements currently in force.
France’s chatbot proposals before launch and beyond
A French expert commission proposed testing consumer chatbots before they enter the European market, with further checks after launch. The proposals are recommendations, not current law.
How chatbot access could change
The proposed checks would cover consumer systems, including chatbots and AI companions.
Assess whether a system exploits or aggravates users’ vulnerabilities before it reaches the European market.
Repeat evaluations periodically, after substantial model changes, and when alerts are raised.
The report says taking a system off the market could be considered if it fails an evaluation.
Other areas the report addresses
Limit dependence risks
Restrict design that flatters users or makes AI seem human.
Add protective defaults
Suggestions include time limits, no persistent memory by default, and an easy way to end a conversation.
Disclose commercial influence
The report proposes a ban on undisclosed commercial influence in AI answers.
Address personal inferences
Users would have rights concerning information a chatbot infers about them.
What providers could need to consider
The report suggests safeguards for services open to minors and prior approval for AI toys.
- Apply protective measures to all users or use robust age verification.
- Keep human-like features off unless a parent agrees.
- Prepare for possible evaluation before launch and repeated checks.
What happens next
The report is intended to inform France’s position on EU AI rules and other European legislation under negotiation.
How Testing Could Change Chatbot Access
The proposed approach would move some scrutiny of consumer chatbots to before they enter the market, then repeat it as systems change. That matters because a chatbot’s behaviour can be affected by updates after release; the commission’s recommendations specifically call for renewed evaluation after a substantial model change, as well as periodic checks and responses to alerts.
The proposals also treat risks as extending beyond inaccurate answers. The commission identifies concerns about users handing over decisions to AI, emotional dependence linked to flattering or human-like design, and online violence such as sexual deepfakes. It also raises risks to public information and elections, and warns that business models could profit from users’ vulnerabilities through concealed advertising. The recommendations would therefore reach product design, advertising and protections for younger users, not just model performance.
For companies, any binding version could mean additional testing and oversight, but the report does not establish the final standards, costs or enforcement arrangements. Most proposals would require action at European Union level, so the report’s significance now is as input to policy discussions rather than an immediate change for users or providers.
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How the Commission Prepared Its Report
The commission, named IA générative et vulnérabilités (“Generative AI and Vulnerabilities”), was established by France’s advisory Council on Artificial Intelligence and Digital Technology, CIANum. The minister delegate for AI and digital affairs, Anne Le Hénanff, assigned the work on February 20, 2026. According to the Élysée, nine multidisciplinary and independent experts took part, led by AI researcher Serena Villata and psychiatrists Raphaël Gaillard and Amine Benyamina.
The report says the commission held 55 hearings over four months, involving health professionals, researchers, companies, regulators and child-protection groups. Its 193-page report was published on the Élysée website on November 10. The commission cited figures including 26% of 12- to 17-year-olds in France using generative AI daily, attributed to the country’s 2026 digital barometer, and 92% of teenagers saying they spend more time on generative AI apps than they would like, attributed to a YouGov survey for Interface. Those figures describe the surveys cited by the report; they are not measurements produced by the commission itself.
The report frames its proposals as material for France’s position on updating the EU AI Act and other European texts still under negotiation. The Élysée summary describes the pre-market proposal as a “paradigm shift,” because it would supplement checks made after problems arise with evaluation before access to the market.
““a paradigm shift””
— The Élysée
No Law or Timeline Yet
The recommendations have no force of law at this stage. As of November 11, the source material identified no bill and no timetable for implementation. The report does not settle which body would conduct evaluations, what evidence providers would need to submit, how results would be judged, or how any market withdrawal would be enforced.
Many proposals would require EU-level changes, and the final wording or fate of the recommendations in negotiations is unknown. The report’s examples, including checks every 12 to 24 months, should not be read as an adopted testing schedule. Macron has said risky AI uses for children should be banned, but that statement does not itself establish a specific ban or make the commission’s proposals binding.
European Policy Talks Ahead
The report is intended to inform France’s position on the EU AI Act update and other European legislation still under negotiation. The next substantive development would be a government or EU proposal that specifies which recommendations France will pursue, whether member states or EU institutions will take them forward, and how consumer systems would be assessed.
Until such a proposal is announced, providers and users should treat the 18 points as recommendations rather than new obligations. No adoption date, legislative timetable or next formal review was specified in the source material.
Key Questions
What did the French commission recommend?
It proposed 18 measures, nine marked as priorities. The central proposal is pre-market evaluation of consumer chatbots, followed by recurring checks, including after substantial model changes or alerts.
Are the chatbot recommendations already law?
No. They are recommendations in a report submitted to the Élysée on November 10, 2026. As of November 11, no bill or implementation timeline had been identified.
Which AI systems would the proposals cover?
The report focuses on consumer chatbots, AI companions and AI-enabled toys. The Élysée says the central proposal targets consumer systems, not professional ones.
What protections for minors did the report suggest?
Providers could apply safeguards to everyone or use robust age verification. Suggested measures include default time limits for minors, no persistent conversation memory by default, an immediate conversation stop button and human-like features off unless a parent agrees.
When could the proposals take effect?
No date was given. Most proposals would require EU-level action, and the report does not establish a legislative timetable or confirm that its recommendations will be adopted.
Source: ThorstenMeyerAI.com
