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French parliament adopted the legislation on Tuesday after approval by both the Senate and the National Assembly, according to the BBC. The measure will roll out in two phases with age-verification tools approved by the national privacy regulator required for all new accounts from September and the full prohibition on existing accounts for those under 15 taking effect in January 2027. President Emmanuel Macron welcomed the development, which he had pledged as a priority before the end of his term in office. The BBC reported that the digital minister defended the timeline by pointing to the availability of existing verification technologies.
A Reuters dispatch from December 2025 detailed how Macron has repeatedly linked social media to youth violence and positioned the measure as following Australia’s precedent with its under-16 prohibition. A Harris Interactive survey from 2024 found that 73 percent of French respondents backed a ban on social media for those under 15. The law also complements earlier restrictions that have barred mobile phones in primary and middle schools since 2018.
An association specialising in online child protection called e-Enfance reported that 86 percent of children aged 8 to 18 in France maintain a social media account. The WHO Regional Office for Europe documented a rise in problematic social media use among adolescents from 7 percent in 2018 to 11 percent in 2022. France’s public health agency ANSES concluded earlier this year that platforms including TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram produce several harmful effects on young users, the Guardian noted.
Laure Miller, a lawmaker who helped shape the bill, told Le Monde that with this law “we will set down a clear limit in society” and “we are saying something very simple: social networks are not harmless.” Nine child protection groups called on parliament to focus on holding platforms accountable instead of restricting children, according to the Guardian. Hard-left legislator Arnaud Saint-Martin described the approach as digital paternalism that offered an overly simplistic answer to technology’s downsides.
Digital Minister Anne Le Hénanff stated that age-verification tools already exist and therefore the measure could move forward quickly, the BBC reported. Specialists have highlighted privacy risks associated with universal age checks and the likelihood that determined young users will find ways around the restrictions. Professor Tama Leaver at Curtin University, drawing from Australia’s experience, assessed that the earlier ban fell short on technical enforcement but proved such policies could be introduced and that young people should join the policy discussion.
Australia implemented the world’s first social media ban for under-16s in December 2025 although subsequent eSafety Commissioner data indicated that seven in 10 affected children retained some form of access. The United Kingdom plans a parallel prohibition for under-16s from January 2027 together with a voluntary midnight curfew option for 16- and 17-year-olds. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has put forward the idea of mandatory delays in social media access for children with fresh legislation anticipated in the coming months.
The French rules instruct platforms to integrate regulator-approved verification systems across their services to block underage registration and logins. Officials have yet to publish full details on enforcement mechanisms or penalties for platforms that fail to comply. Initial coverage from Reuters and the BBC indicated that work on compatible verification infrastructure is already under way at European level.
