PARIS, Jan 27, 2026, 14:07 (CET)
- France’s National Assembly passed a bill banning children under 15 from using social media.
- The measure also prohibits mobile phones in high schools, with the government targeting a September rollout.
- Legal and enforcement issues persist, especially regarding how age verification would function under EU regulations.
Late Monday, France’s National Assembly gave the green light to a law banning social media use for kids under 15. The move targets online bullying and rising mental health concerns, according to lawmakers and officials. (Reuters)
European governments are zeroing in on teen screen time and platform design, pushing for strict age limits over looser “parental controls.” In France, official alerts on self-harm content and family-reported cases tied to social media feeds have intensified the debate.
President Emmanuel Macron has pushed for a fast-track parliamentary process—bypassing the usual multiple readings in each chamber—so the rules can be in place by the start of the next school year, expected this September.
The bill passed with a 130 to 21 vote and will move to the Senate in the next few weeks. It also prohibits mobile phones in high schools, expanding the existing French ban that applies to primary and middle schools.
Macron presented the vote as driven by scientific guidance and public demand, insisting children must be shielded from social media algorithms. “Our children’s brains are not for sale,” he declared after the vote. (AP)
Enforcement is the tricky part. The new rules ban anyone under 15 from accessing an “online social network service,” and ministers insist platforms must implement age verification — systems that confirm a user’s age — to actually enforce the ban.
This targets major platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat. For the biggest services, any sanctions would come from the European Commission, under the EU’s Digital Services Act — a comprehensive rulebook that imposes safety obligations on online platforms and grants Brussels greater authority over the largest players.
But the bill isn’t without legal risks, and it’s already been revised. France’s top administrative court, the Conseil d’Etat, flagged issues around European law compliance and possible clashes with fundamental freedoms. That pushed lawmakers to tone down some parts. “The bill is legally fragile,” noted law professor Brunessen Bertrand. (Le Monde)
The scope might extend well beyond typical social apps. Amendments passed in the Assembly introduce language to curb “excessive commercial pressure” on minors. Another clause aims to boost liability for recommendation systems that target children’s accounts. The government also plans to clamp down on certain semi-public features in messaging services and social elements within popular video games, while explicitly exempting encyclopedias, educational and scientific directories, and open-source software platforms.
Education Minister Edouard Geffray supports the phone ban in high schools, telling lawmakers that students can’t focus with constant notifications buzzing in their pockets. School leaders, unions, and staff have flagged practical concerns about enforcing the ban, while the text permits internal school rules to specify where phones might still be allowed.
French health officials have flagged heavy daily smartphone use among teens and linked social networks to various harms, including drops in self-esteem and increased exposure to content related to self-harm, drug use, and suicide. In France, several families have taken legal action against TikTok, blaming the platform for teen suicides tied to harmful material.
France isn’t the only country stepping up. Britain plans to consider tougher limits on social media use by young teens. Meanwhile, European lawmakers want the entire bloc to set a minimum age of 16 and clamp down on the worst online behaviors. Supporters of France’s approach point to Australia’s under-16 ban, where officials reported deleting millions of accounts flagged as belonging to kids.
The Senate still has the power to amend the bill, but age verification is a tricky issue—both politically and technically. It risks clashing with privacy regulations and can be bypassed by savvy users. Officials in Paris aim to enforce the ban on new sign-ups starting in September, while rolling out wider age checks for current users over a more extended period.
