A bill prohibiting children under the age of 15 from using social media was approved by French lawmakers on Tuesday, making France the first nation in Europe to do so and joining a growing global movement to restrict young people’s exposure to online platforms.
After months of disagreement over the extent of the ban, members of the National Assembly and Senate reached a compromise in a joint committee on Monday, clearing the bill’s final parliamentary obstacle. “France will become the first country in Europe to introduce a digital age limit to better protect our children online,” announced Digital Minister Anne Le Henanff on Monday.
How The Prohibition Will Operate
There will be two phases to the social media ban. The creation of new accounts for individuals under the age of 15 will be prohibited starting on September 1, and accounts that already belong to minors will be protected starting in January 2027. Age verification systems authorized by France’s privacy regulator must be implemented by platforms.
Open-source software websites, educational platforms, and online encyclopedias are exempt from the law. Additionally, it expands the current ban on smartphones in elementary and middle schools to include high schools.
EU Tensions And Enforcement Concerns
Brussels might complicate the law. Earlier this month, the European Commission determined that the bill did not fully comply with EU law, particularly the Digital Services Act, and requested that France amend some of its provisions. The measure cannot technically go into force till August 10 in accordance with EU notification regulations.
The range of platforms covered was the primary point of contention between the two chambers. While the Senate favored a blacklist strategy, the National Assembly supported outlawing all online social networking services. In the end, the larger framework of the lower house won out.
The ban has been promoted by President Emmanuel Macron as a key reform of his last term, and he has promised to implement it by September, when the school year begins. France joins a wave of similar initiatives in Norway, the United Kingdom, Turkey, and Indonesia after Australia passed the world’s first social media ban for under-16s in December 2025.
Roughly 90% of kids between the ages of 12 and 17 use smartphones every day to access the internet, and 58% use them for social networking, according to a French health watchdog report.