The French parliament passed a law on Tuesday banning social media use for those under 15, making France the first European country to implement such a ban, according to the BBC.
The ban is being introduced in two phases. From September, people under 15 will not be able to open new accounts, and age verification will become mandatory for every new registration. From January 2027, the rule will be extended to existing accounts, meaning all users in France must prove they are over 15 if they wish to continue using social media.
Platforms will only be allowed to use age verification tools approved by the French data protection regulator. The law was voted on by both the Senate and the National Assembly, despite opposition from parts of the left, and was welcomed by President Emmanuel Macron, who had announced the ban as one of his key measures towards the end of his decade in power.
Critics warn of privacy risks, question the effectiveness of age verification tools, highlight the possibility of young people bypassing them, and criticise the speed at which the law was passed. The minister for digital technologies, Anne Le Hénanff, responded that the rush was not contentious because age verification tools already exist.
France is the second country in the world to adopt such a measure, following Australia, which banned social media for those under 16 in December. The Australian experience shows the limits of the ban: the eSafety Commissioner reported in March that seven out of ten children who had an account before the ban still had at least partial access to the networks.
Other parts of Europe are preparing for restrictions. In the United Kingdom, a ban on social media for under-16s has been announced for January 2027, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed in May the introduction of "social media delays" for children at the European Union level.
