France is set to ban children under the age of 15 from using social media after lawmakers passed a landmark law aimed at strengthening online protections for young people.
The legislation, overwhelmingly passed by the French Parliament on Tuesday, will require users to verify their age before accessing social media platforms. President Emmanuel Macron, who strongly backed the measure, is expected to sign it into law.
The new rules will be introduced in two phases. Beginning in September, children under 15 will be barred from creating new social media accounts, with age verification becoming mandatory for all new users. From January 2027, the requirement will extend to existing accounts, meaning every social media user in France will have to prove they are at least 15 years old to continue using the platforms.
The law makes France the second country globally, after Australia, to impose a nationwide social media age ban. It also places the country at the forefront of European efforts to regulate children’s online activity amid growing concerns over mental health, online addiction and harmful digital content.
Celebrating the parliamentary vote, President Macron wrote on X: “Social media will be banned for children under 15 starting this school year.”
The French leader has consistently argued that stronger protections are needed for children online. In a video message released earlier this year, he said: “The brains of our children and our teenagers are not for sale. The emotions of our children and our teenagers are not for sale or to be manipulated, neither by American platforms nor by Chinese algorithms.”
Under the legislation, social media companies will be required to use age-verification systems approved by France’s data protection authorities. The country’s audiovisual and digital communications regulator, Arcom, will oversee enforcement of the law.
French officials insist the technology needed to verify users’ ages is already available and can be implemented without significant delays. Digital Minister Anne Le Hénanff defended the fast-tracked legislation, arguing that existing age-verification tools make the timeline achievable.
Despite broad political support, the law has drawn criticism from privacy advocates and some lawmakers, who have questioned whether age-verification systems can effectively prevent underage access without compromising users’ personal information. Others warn that determined teenagers could bypass the restrictions or migrate to less-regulated online platforms.
Experts have also cautioned that limiting access to mainstream social media could unintentionally reduce young people’s exposure to news and civic discussions while pushing them toward alternative digital spaces with fewer safeguards.
The legislation comes as several countries move to tighten online protections for minors. Australia introduced a similar ban for children under 16 in late 2025, while the United Kingdom plans to prohibit social media use by under-16s from January 2027. Spain, Greece and Denmark are also considering minimum age requirements for social media access.
According to Arcom, French children aged between 12 and 17 spend an average of one hour and 21 minutes each day on TikTok. The regulator has previously warned that recommendation algorithms can amplify extreme or harmful content, increasing the risk of anxiety and other negative effects on young users.
While social media companies insist they already have measures in place to protect children from harmful content, governments across Europe are pressing ahead with tougher regulations, signalling a broader shift toward stricter oversight of digital platforms and stronger online protections for minors.
