France has become the first country in the European Union to ban children under the age of 15 from using social media platforms, following the approval of new legislation by French lawmakers.
The bill, which received overwhelming support in Parliament on Tuesday, is backed by President Emmanuel Macron and is expected to take effect from the start of the new school year in September after being signed into law.
Announcing the development on X, Macron said, “Social media will be banned for children under 15 starting this school year.”
He has consistently argued that children’s mental health should not be exploited by technology companies.
“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,” Macron had earlier stated.
The legislation makes France the first EU member state to impose such a restriction, although Australia became the first country globally to introduce a similar ban for children under 16 last year. The United Kingdom has also announced plans to implement comparable measures, while Spain, Greece and Denmark are considering similar laws.
Under the new law, France’s digital communications regulator, Arcom, will oversee its implementation across major social media platforms.
Although the government has pledged to introduce age verification measures, officials are yet to explain how platforms will verify users’ ages.
According to Arcom, French teenagers aged 12 to 17 spend an average of one hour and 21 minutes daily on TikTok. The regulator has expressed concern that recommendation algorithms often expose young users to extreme, anxiety-inducing and harmful content.
While many parents have welcomed the decision, some experts believe age restrictions alone will not fully address online safety concerns.
French Education Minister Édouard Geffray said regulation must be accompanied by digital education and healthier alternatives for young people.
Similarly, Amnesty International France urged governments to tackle the business models of social media companies, arguing that addictive platform designs should also be addressed.
Some lawmakers had earlier opposed aspects of the bill, citing concerns over children’s access to educational content and freedom of expression.
The legislation follows France’s 2025 law requiring age verification before minors can access online pornography, signalling the country’s increasing efforts to strengthen online child protection.
Source: CNN
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