France’s parliament officially approved a sweeping bill on Tuesday banning social media access for children under the age of 15, making it the first European Union nation to pass a blanket restriction on the platforms. The legislation, championed by President Emmanuel Macron as a flagship reform of his final term, was adopted by both the Senate and the National Assembly, marking a major milestone in global efforts to curb the impact of digital content on the mental health of minors.
The ambitious new law is set to roll out in stages, starting with a prohibition on children under 15 creating new social media accounts beginning September 1, aligning with the new French school year. Tech companies will then have an additional four months, until January 2027, to implement approved age-verification tools and shut down existing accounts belonging to underage users.
The bill also includes a strict ban on the use of mobile phones in high schools, though it provides exemptions for educational and scientific directories. Enforcement of the platform ban will be overseen by Arcom, France’s digital communications regulator.
The French legislation follows Australia’s historic social media ban for under-16s, which took effect earlier this year, and comes as other EU nations like Spain and Greece consider similar measures.
While children’s advocates and families who have sued platforms over harmful content celebrated the vote, the law faced criticism from left-wing lawmakers and digital rights groups who warned of privacy risks associated with sweeping age-verification mandates.
The bill will now undergo a constitutional review, and the European Commission is expected to evaluate whether the ban conflicts with existing EU digital legislation.
