French Parliament Set to Approve Ban on Social Media for Children Under 15
The French parliament is expected to vote Tuesday on a bill that would ban children under 15 from creating new social media accounts starting September 1, and from January 2027 would also cover existing accounts.
French lawmakers are poised to approve a bill on Tuesday that bans access to social media for children under the age of 15, making France a leader among EU countries taking such measures. According to a report from France 24, cited by European Pravda, deputies from both chambers reached a compromise on the bill's text on Monday, clearing the way for a final vote expected despite criticism from left-wing parties.
French Digital Minister Anne Le Henanf stated on Monday that France will become the first country in Europe to introduce an age limit in the digital sphere to better protect children online. President Emmanuel Macron has backed the law as a flagship reform of his final term and promised to ensure it takes effect by September.
The regulations are to be implemented in two phases: starting September 1, children under 15 will be banned from creating new accounts. According to the bill, the ban will extend to existing accounts from January 2027. However, the two chambers disagreed on the approach to enforcement. The Senate had chosen a two-tier system distinguishing between platforms on a "blacklist" deemed harmful and those accessible with parental consent. But the broader approach of the lower house prevailed, requiring social media platforms to refuse registration to new users under 15 and block the accounts of children below that age.
Exceptions are provided for sites such as online encyclopedias and educational platforms. With this law, France will join more than 20 countries that have taken measures to regulate children's access to social media.
Notably, on July 13, the European Commission presented a report from a committee of experts on children's safety online, recommending that minors under 13 should only have limited, parentally supervised access to social media. Previously, the Commission preliminarily found that Meta violated the Digital Services Act (DSA) due to the addictive design of Instagram and Facebook.
