The French parliament adopted 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 introduced in two phases. From September, those under 15 will be unable to open new accounts, with age verification becoming mandatory for each new registration. From January 2027, the rule will extend to existing accounts, meaning all users in France will be required to prove they are over 15 if they wish to continue using social media.
Platforms will be permitted to use only age verification tools approved by the French data protection authority. The law was passed by both the Senate and the National Assembly, despite opposition from parts of the left, and was welcomed by President Emmanuel Macron, who had previously framed the ban as one of the key measures of his decade in power.
Critics have warned of privacy risks, questioning the effectiveness of the age verification tools and the speed at which the law was passed. The minister responsible for digital technology, Anne Hénanff, responded that the urgency was justified as the verification tools were already in place.
France is the second country in the world to take such a measure, following Australia, which banned social media for those under 16 in December. The Australian experience highlights the limitations of such bans: the e-safety commission reported in March that seven in ten children who held accounts prior to the ban still had at least partial access to the platforms.
The restrictions are prompting similar moves across Europe. In the United Kingdom, a ban on social media for those under 16 is set for January 2027, while the European Commission has proposed introducing "social media age gates" for children across the European Union.
