France becomes first EU country to ban social media for under-15s

France has go the archetypal state successful the European Union to prohibition societal media for children nether the property of 15, aft its parliament overwhelmingly approved landmark authorities by 279 votes to 81.

Under the caller law, children nether 15 volition beryllium prevented from creating caller societal media accounts connected platforms specified arsenic TikTok and Snapchat from September, portion existing accounts volition beryllium blocked from January 2027, according to the legislation. 

The measure volition besides prohibition cellphones successful precocious schoolhouse and necessitate societal platforms to present property verification checks.

"France is starring the mode successful Europe erstwhile it comes to protecting our children and teenagers," President Emmanuel Macron said, hailing the legislation's transition arsenic a landmark moment. 

Earlier this year, France's nationalist wellness watchdog concluded that societal media had harmful effects connected teenagers' intelligence health, particularly girls.

Teenage girls look astatine their phones successful beforehand of the Camille Vernet schoolhouse analyzable successful Valence, Drome department, southeast France, successful a July 7, 2026 record photo. Nicolas Guyonnet/Hans Lucas/AFP/Getty

Macron has made online kid information a defining contented of the last years of his presidency, and the prohibition volition apt beryllium 1 of the past large home reforms helium ushers through. Macron volition people a decennary successful bureau adjacent year, and helium cannot tally again successful April's nationalist predetermination as, similar the U.S., France has a 2 consecutive word bounds for its presidents.

Will it work?

Critics reason that the biggest situation volition beryllium enforcement. Many question whether age-verification exertion is robust capable to forestall children from accessing societal media. 

Some teens whitethorn bypass the restrictions by utilizing VPNs, fake dates of commencement oregon accounts created by older friends oregon household members.

Privacy campaigners person besides warned that stronger property checks whitethorn necessitate users to manus implicit much idiosyncratic information, portion others reason the prohibition could simply propulsion young radical toward little regulated platforms alternatively than reducing the magnitude of clip they walk online. 

"The planetary rollout of societal media bans represents a superior menace to the state and privateness of millions of net users crossed the world. Requiring users to upload delicate ID oregon biometric accusation to entree societal media does not support children safe, but does present superior cybersecurity and privateness risks for each users of each ages," Maya Thomas, a ineligible and argumentation serviceman astatine the British enactment Big Brother Watch, told CBS News.

"We person already seen successful Australia that a societal media prohibition tin easy beryllium circumvented, with immoderate children adjacent bypassing property gates by drafting connected fake moustaches. Governments wishing to tackle the harmful concern practices of societal media companies indispensable bash truthful by regulating the companies directly, not by imposing restrictions upon their users," Thomas said.

Australia's acquisition has fueled concerns astir the practicality of broad bans.

Australia became the archetypal state to enforce specified a measurement erstwhile it banned under-16s from societal media astatine the extremity of 2025. But astir 70% of parents polled by Australia's net regulator successful March said their children remained on the platforms, having recovered ways to bypass age-gating systems.

The French authorities includes exemptions for acquisition platforms and online encyclopedias.

Wider trends and "digital sovereignty"

The societal media prohibition aligns with a wider propulsion by France nether Macron, on with immoderate EU partners, for "digital sovereignty." The thought is that Europe should go little babelike connected American and Chinese exertion companies, portion taking a tougher regulatory attack to the integer system and encouraging European alternatives.

In January, Macron said in a station connected X that French "children's brains are not for sale. Neither to American platforms nor to Chinese networks."

The strategy extends beyond societal media. France and Germany precocious announced plans to make an alternate to subject bundle supplied by the U.S. steadfast Palantir, portion France's home quality work ended its declaration with the American tech steadfast earlier this year.

And portion France is the archetypal EU subordinate authorities to present specified a ban, it is improbable to beryllium the last.

"It is wide we request age-appropriate restrictions to platforms," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said past week.

Last month, the U.K. besides announced plans to present a ban connected societal media accounts for under-16s from January 2027.

But looming bans aside, the parliamentary ballot makes France conscionable the 2nd state successful the satellite to present a nationwide societal media prohibition for children, pursuing Australia. 

As much than a twelve different countries, including Canada, Denmark and Malaysia, measurement up their ain authorities to restrict children's entree to societal media, France whitethorn supply different aboriginal trial case, with governments crossed the satellite watching intimately to spot if the outright prohibition tin execute its intended aims.

In:

• Social Media
• Snapchat
• Meta
• TikTok
• Emmanuel Macron
• France
• European Union