France Bans Social Media for Children Under 15

The French Parliament approved a law on July 21, 2026, banning children under 15 from accessing social media. Championed by Emmanuel Macron as a flagship reform of his final term, the measure makes France the first European Union member state to implement such a blanket ban. The legislation also extends the existing prohibition of mobile phones in middle schools to high schools starting in the 2026 school year.

The ban follows a two-stage rollout: the creation of new accounts for those under 15 will be blocked starting September 1, 2026, and existing accounts for minors must be closed by January 1, 2027. Platforms are required to integrate approved age-verification tools, though the law imposes fines on non-compliant companies rather than parents or children. Exceptions are granted for online encyclopedias, educational directories, and open-source software platforms.

The law was the result of a compromise between the National Assembly of France and the Senate, who disagreed on whether to use a blanket ban or a blacklist of platforms. While the European Commission previously cautioned that the bill overlapped with the EU Digital Services Act, the final version leaves compliance enforcement to EU authorities. Digital-rights group La Quadrature du Net criticized the measure as generalized surveillance, while some lawmakers warned that the ban may be impossible to enforce, citing data from Australia where many children retained accounts after a similar ban.