France Legislates Social Media Ban for Under-15s, a First in EU
The new French law requires social media platforms to verify users’ ages, delete accounts belonging to children under 15, and awaits compliance review under the EU’s Digital Services Act before taking full effect.
France has approved the landmark law banning children under 15 from using social media.
France has become the first country in the European Union to ban children under the age of 15 from using social media, after lawmakers approved a landmark law aimed at protecting minors from the harmful effects of excessive screen time and online platforms.
The legislation is expected to come into force from September 1, ahead of the new school year.
The law, backed by President Emmanuel Macron’s government, prohibits children under 15 from opening accounts on social media platforms. Companies will also be required to delete existing accounts belonging to users below the age limit within four months of the law taking effect and introduce age verification systems approved by France’s privacy regulator.
The move is part of a broader push by the French government to address growing concerns over the impact of social media on children’s mental health, including cyberbullying, addiction, anxiety and exposure to harmful content.
Macron has repeatedly argued that unrestricted access to digital platforms poses serious risks to young people and has advocated stronger regulation of children’s online activity.
The legislation also includes a ban on the use of mobile phones in high schools, expanding France’s existing restrictions on phone use in schools. However, educational platforms and certain public-interest services, such as online encyclopedias, will remain exempt from the social media restrictions.
The final version of the law replaced an earlier proposal that sought to blacklist specific social media platforms. Instead, it broadly covers services falling within the definition of social media under European Union rules. The European Commission is examining whether the legislation complies with the EU’s Digital Services Act before it is fully implemented.
France’s move follows similar action by Australia, which became the first country in the world to legislate a social media ban for children under 16. Several other European countries, including Greece, Spain and Denmark, are also considering comparable restrictions as governments increasingly seek to regulate children’s access to digital platforms.
