French Constitutional Council strikes down under-15 social media ban as disproportionate
France's Constitutional Council ruled on 14 August that the ban on social media for under-15s violates freedom of expression, striking down a measure due to take effect on 1 September and prompting President Macron to order a rewrite by spring 2027.
Council strikes down blanket ban
On Friday 14 August 2026, France's Constitutional Council censured Article 1 of the law aimed at protecting minors from social media risks, ruling that the blanket ban for under-15s constituted a "disproportionate" infringement on freedom of expression. The measure, which would have been the first of its kind in Europe, was due to take effect on 1 September. Parliament had given the law final approval on 21 July, after the Senate rewrote large portions to include a "blacklist" of targeted platforms, a provision later abandoned over concerns about compatibility with European law.
The Council was seized on 23 July by socialist and La France Insoumise deputies. The judges found the restriction was "not suited, necessary or proportionate" to the objective pursued. While acknowledging the "constitutional requirement to protect the best interests of the child," the Council noted the broad ban could apply to online communication services "whose risks to the health and safety of minors are not established."
Scope and privacy concerns
Article 1 covered a wide range of services: TikTok, Snapchat, X, Instagram, social features of YouTube, messaging apps including WhatsApp and Messenger, and certain online games. The law applied to any service meeting the definition of a social network under France's 2004 digital confidence law. Exemptions for online encyclopedias, educational directories, and scientific repositories were deemed too "limited" by the Council.
The Council raised a second ground: privacy. On age verification, it found that the law "by its very nature requires that every person, including adults, prove their age before accessing" the covered services, but the legislator "did not specify the conditions and limitations under which such proof must be provided," failing to establish the legal guarantees needed to protect private life. The Council also noted the law did not set out conditions under which parents could lift the ban, limit its scope, or authorize access to specific services, nor did it account for the age, family situation, or degree of maturity of the minor.
- Parliament gives final approval to the law
- Socialist and La France Insoumise deputies seize the Constitutional Council
- Constitutional Council censures Article 1, striking down the under-15 social media ban
- Ban was due to take effect; school smartphone ban still starts
- Revised law expected from Prime Minister Lecornu
Political reactions and next steps
The Elysee announced that President Emmanuel Macron has charged Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu to work on a new "juridically robust" version of the ban, taking into account the Council's decision and the European framework. The revised text is expected "by spring 2027."
The determination of the President of the Republic to bring this reform to fruition by spring 2027 remains total.
Sarah El Hairy, High Commissioner for Childhood, said she "takes note" of the decision but does not "resign herself" to it, defending the principle of a ban and calling minors' exposure to social media "a significant child protection issue." According to a study published in July by Arcom, France's audiovisual and digital regulator, more than two-thirds of 10-14 year olds would have favored the ban.
What survives
The school smartphone ban, which extends the existing prohibition in primary and secondary schools to lycees, still takes effect on 1 September. The Council was asked to rule only on Article 1, so the rest of the law remains untouched. The original timetable had two phases: new account creation would have stopped on 1 September, with a four-month transition for existing accounts running to 1 January 2027.
