France becomes first EU country to ban social media for under-15s, law to take effect September 1
The law, approved by both chambers on Tuesday, will block new accounts for minors under 15 from 1 September 2026 and require age verification for all users by January 2027, as President Macron pushes through his final reform.
Parliamentary approval
On Tuesday, both chambers of the French parliament adopted the ban. The National Assembly voted 279 to 81, and the Senate 243 to 2. The law, championed by President Emmanuel Macron as his final reform before leaving office in spring 2027, makes France the first EU member state to impose a blanket social media age restriction.
France is leading the way in Europe when it comes to protecting our children and teenagers.
How the ban works
The legislation takes effect in two stages. From 1 September 2026, minors under 15 will be unable to create new accounts on social media platforms. Existing accounts held by under-15s will be blocked by 1 January 2027, following a four-month transition period. The law also extends the existing smartphone ban to high schools.
- Parliament approves ban (Assembly 279-81, Senate 243-2)
- New account creation blocked for under-15s
- Existing under-15 accounts blocked
Platforms including TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook and X are covered. YouTube videos will remain accessible but commenting will be disabled; WhatsApp messaging will be allowed but sharing functions blocked. The exact age-verification method is not yet specified. Digital Minister Anne Le Hénaff said the government will await a Constitutional Council review before deciding on the procedure, but indicated that the state digital identity system France Connect is likely to play a central role. An earlier draft drew objections from the European Commission for conflicting with the Digital Services Act; the final text avoids a blacklist of platforms and focuses solely on access restrictions.
France will be the first country in Europe to introduce a digital age of majority to better protect our children.
Health concerns driving the law
Centrist MP Laure Miller, who introduced the bill, cited a range of harms linked to excessive social media use among children: impaired memory and reading ability, fragmented attention, social isolation, worsening eating disorders and increased suicidal thoughts, particularly among girls. French health authority data shows children aged 11 to 14 spend an average of two hours a day on social media, while nearly half of 12- to 17-year-olds spend between two and five hours.
The aim is to protect the mental health of our young people.
The law also carries personal weight for some. Emmanuelle P., whose 15-year-old son Clément took his own life after months of online harassment, told Libération the ban was overdue.
This law is the minimum. It should have been enacted long ago.
A global shift, with doubts
France follows Australia, which banned social media for under-16s in December 2025. The UK, under former prime minister Keir Starmer, announced a similar ban for under-16s in June, aiming for implementation in early 2027. At least eight other European countries are considering restrictions, and the EU is working on under-13 age limits. Outside Europe, Indonesia and Malaysia introduced under-16 bans earlier this year, while Canada and Thailand are debating proposals.
However, enforcement remains a challenge. Australia's eSafety Commission reported in March that seven out of ten children under 16 who had accounts before the ban still had "some access". Professor Tama Leaver of Curtin University told the BBC that Australia's ban had "failed" in its technical aims but demonstrated that a ban "can be done". He stressed that young people must be involved in designing such policies.
Young people need to be part of this conversation so that a ban is done with them and not to them.
Privacy advocates have also raised concerns about the age-verification requirement, warning that it could create new data collection risks and push minors towards less regulated online spaces.
